Autism in History The Case of Hugh Blair of Borgue [Paperback]

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.List of Plates.

Acknowledgements.

1. The Background to the Study.

2. The Life and Times of Hugh Blair.

3. Understanding Mental Incapacity in the Past.

4. Autism and its Relevance to the Case of High Blair.

5. Reading the Court Case as a Clinical Case.

6. Historical-clinical Approach to the Case of Hugh Blair.

Notes.

Glossary of Historical Terms.

Glossary and Topics in Autism.

Further Historical Reading.

Further Reading on Autism.

Index.

This is a comprehensive history, charting thinking, practice and theories from the late 1930s to the present day . . . Recommended - a much-needed addition to the autism library. (Communication Magazine, 1 April 2011)

I found this book utterly absorbing and utterly convincing. The richness of historical detail - testimonies and actual interrogations - and its telling hold one like a novel. The minute sifting of the evidence is in the best historico-clinical tradition, weighing everything carefully, never overstating or pushing. The interest spreads in all directions - about the way the law, the culture, and ordinary people thought of mental incapacity or madness in the eighteenth century. I think Autism in History will be extremely valuable in many different ways. Oliver Sacks M.D. Author of Awakenings

The authors guide us through the case with an expert hand, il4