The Speckled Monster

THE SPECKLED MONSTER revisits the early practice of variolation--injecting small amounts of a disease subdermally to create antibodies against larger doses. Carrell, a writer for SMITHSONIAN magazine, tells the stories of two important figures in this field and how their efforts may have stemmed a smallpox epidemic in the 18th century: Zabdiel Boylston, who was the first to use inoculation during an epidemic in Boston, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu of England, who had her son inoculated and thus publicized the practice and helped legitimize it. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.