DIET IN RELATION TO AGE and ACTIVITY: WITH HINTS CONCERNING HABITS CONDUCIVE TO LONGEVITY. By Sir Henry Thompson, Bart.

(1885) 2022 new edition. 8vo paperback (138 x 216mm). Pp95,ad. B/w photograph of the author, introduction by Tom Jaine.

"In this classic of Victorian lifestyle, Sir Henry Thompson, a famous surgeon and nutritionist of the time, sets out guidelines for maintaining health and vigour in life's declining years. His approach is surprisingly modern, with recommendations to limit meat consumption and excessive drinking and to reduce food intake as the years increase. Vegetables and fruit in the diet are encouraged, as are periods of exercise outdoors, hot foot-baths before bed, and a routine beginning with early morning tea first thing, prior to work, before breakfast and a regular daily programme of activity including meals and rest designed to give structure to living through the later years." In his introduction Tom Jaine, publisher, editor of the Oxford Companion to Food, and a distinguished food writer, assesses the merits of this valuable book and surveys the author's remarkable career as a leading figure in the world of 19th century medicine.