Poverty, Sickness and Death in England, 1750-1850 provides an in-depth look at medical provision in England under the Old Poor Law, a subject on which little has been written to date. Based on the results of the first large-scale comparative regional analysis of the scale, form and duration of medical relief, this study provides a valuable insight into the issue of pauper access to medical care and sickness relief.

Steven King draws on a wide range of sources for this study, including vestry minutes, overseers' accounts, doctor's treatment books, diaries, newspaper reporting, coroner's reports, court depositions, hospital and workhouse records and the correspondence of poor law unions. The largest ever sample of pauper letters are analysed to explore issues such as pauper agency, the nature of relief negotiation processes and the feelings and strategies of paupers.