Abstract
Although Andrew Duncan made no important contributions to medical thought, he was one of a group of teachers that established Edinburgh as the most celebrated medical school in late 18th century Europe. As well as being twice President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and having a lucrative private practice, he was instrumental in founding the town's public dispensary for the sick poor and the lunatic asylum as well as a Chair in Medical Jurisprudence. He contributed the article on medicine to the first edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica, launched a quarterly journal entitled Medical and Philosophical Commentaries and wrote textbooks on therapeutics.
Duncan was a very sociable man and is reputed to have belonged to 12 non-medical clubs whose interests included philosophical disputation, archery, golf and horticulture. Professionally he founded the Aesculapian Club and the Harveian Society of Edinburgh which are still flourishing, and he was first President of the Medico Chirugical Society.
All these enterprises, as well as the intrigues and backbiting of an academic town, are fully covered in this excellent book. John Chalmers has brought together a distinguished team of authors to chronicle the medical and social life of an exuberant man. The result is a book that is essential reading for those interested in enlightenment Edinburgh.