Autism in History The Case of Hugh Blair of Borgue

by Houston, Rab; Frith, Uta

• ISBN13: 9780631220893
• ISBN10: 0631220895
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-12-19
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This engaging story of an eighteenth century Scottish laird whose brief arranged marriage was annulled on the grounds of his mental capacity - which seen through modern eyes can be identified as autism. It is a story of villainy and innocence, and provides a fascinating historical context to which the latest theories on autism are applied.

Author Biography

Rab Houston is Professor of Early Modern History at the University of St Andrews. He has extensive research experience in the social history of Britain and Europe in the early modern period. Best known for his work on seventeenth and eighteenth-century Scotland, his published books include Madness and Society in Eighteenth-Century Scotland.

Uta Frith is a Professor of Cognitive Development at University College of London and Deputy Director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University College of London. She has pioneered investigations into the mind of the individual with autism and has a keen interest in the impact of the disorder on both sufferer and carers. Her book, Autism: Explaining the Enigma has been translated into many languages.

Table of Contents

List of Plates	vi
Acknowledgements	viii
The Background to the Study	1	(13)
The Life and Times of Hugh Blair	14	(39)
Understanding Mental Incapacity in the Past	53	(44)
Autism and its Relevance to the Case of Hugh Blair	97	(35)
Reading the Court Case as a Clinical Case	132	(25)
The Historical-clinical Approach to the Case of Hugh Blair	157	(19)
Notes	176	(17)
Glossary of Historical Terms	193	(2)
Glossary and Topics in Autism	195	(5)
Further Historical Reading	200	(1)
Further Reading on Autism	201	(1)
Index	202