Free Radicals

A Spectator Book of the Year 2025

“Fascinating, exciting, entertaining… . Jay’s description of the wild highs induced by nitrous oxide is a tour de force, and so is his account of the bad trips, and the no-trips, it soon also turned out to deliver… . [A] superb book, learned and full of insight… . I can hardly think of a bad word to say against it.”—John Barrell, London Review of Books

“Jay wonderfully restores Beddoes’s reputation as a courageous and painstaking scientist, physician, revolutionary firebrand and social reformer—truly, one of the giants of rational thought.”—Jay Rath, Fortean Times

“Brilliantly researched… . Fans of scientific biography and history of science, as well as history buffs in general, will be engrossed by Jay’s marvelous study of an unusual man and the political and intellectual ferment of his time.”—Publishers Weekly

“An outstanding work of historical non-fiction… . The book is full of fascinating research, which manages to thread together science, politics, and philosophy in an extremely engaging and well written narrative.”—Literary Review

“The book opens a window on a fascinating time in medical history.”—David Knight, Social History of Medicine

“Excellent and eminently readable… . Mike Jay has succeeded in capturing the excitement of the times… . A thoroughly inspiring, informative and enjoyable read.”—Gabriel Scally, International Journal of Epidemiology

“A brilliantly researched book and written in a lively style.” —Sharon Ruston, Times Higher Education

“The book makes good use of primary sources, and is an engaging read.”—Leslie Tomory, AMBIX

“Free Radicals is emblematic of Jay’s work, illustrating his enviable ability to transform scrupulous historical research into clear and engaging prose.”—Ross MacFarlane, Fortean Times

“[This] eminently readable book … is well researched, written in lively prose, and adopts a tone that does justice to this most exciting period of British history.”—Lisa Ann Robertson, The British Society for Literature and Science

Praise for Mike Jay’s The Air Loom Gang:

“A wonderful book to read… . Beautifully written, with all the drama, the rich characterization, the subtlety, of a fine novel.”—Oliver Sacks

“The pursuit of science in the evolution of culture does not get much more hair-raising than this. Mike Jay … has an uncanny ability to bring everything together through Dr Thomas Beddoes’ experimental gases: hopes for the elimination of all disease, the politics of scientific research, the perpetual threat of political invasion, all in the tense period at the turn of the nineteenth century. This is history written as it should be.”—George Rousseau, Oxford University, author, with Roy Porter, of Gout: The Patrician Malady

“Enthralling. This is exactly the kind of cross-cultural biography we need. Lively and sympathetic, it restores the renegade Dr Thomas Beddoes to his rightful place in scientific history, but also to his revolutionary circle of literary friends.”—Richard Holmes

“Mike Jay’s wonderfully sympathetic account is written vividly and with narrative flair. Bringing together medicine, chemistry, and politics, it is a compelling read.”—Trevor Levere

Mike Jay has written extensively on scientific and medical history and contributes regularly to the London Review of Books and the Wall Street Journal. His previous books on the history of drugs include High Society, Mescaline, and Psychonauts.

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