Reddie Mallett | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 February 1864 |
| Died | 7 September 1938 (aged 73–74) |
| Occupation(s) | Naturopath, writer |
Josiah Reddie Martin Mallett (18 February 1864 – 7 September 1938), known as Reddie Mallett, was an English freethinker, naturopath, poet and writer.
Biography
[edit]Mallett was born on 18 February 1864 in London.[1] He was educated at Mill Hill Grammar School and as a young man took interest in literature and poetry. He authored books and pamphlets on natural health that were published by Watts & Co.[2] His most popular book Nature's Way: A Means of Health Without Medicine sold well in the United Kingdom. By 1926 it was in its 18th edition and had sold 185,000 copies.[3] It also sold well in Australia and was reprinted as How to Get Well: According to Nature's Way.[4] A revised edition was edited by George Ryley Scott in 1948.[5]
Mallett gave special importance to diet for attaining health without medicine.[6] He promoted natural remedies and the consumption of fruit and vegetable juices. He opposed the use of drugs and had no faith in physicians and surgeons.[7] His 1926 Book of Health promoted a diet of fruit juice and to cure all ailments by lemon juice and olive oil. Mallett stated that lemon juice is a marvellous disinfectant that is unrecognized by medical science and can cure many diseases including cancer.[7] The book was criticized in 1931 as statements in the book contravened the Venereal Diseases Act of 1917.[8] The British Social Hygiene Council and the Ministry for Health were concerned about its harmful advice regarding self-treatment of syphilis. The book was withdrawn by the publisher.[8] This was the only book Mallett authored that was withdrawn by Watts & Co. He continued to author many other books for them on naturopathy that were published in the 1930s.
In 1935, Mallett stated that he could "live quite well" on a diet of fruit juices and he was walking over a hundred miles each month.[9]
Mallett died at Dunsford on 7 September 1938. His estate valued at £1,933 was granted to his widow Mrs. Clara Mallett.[10]
Selected publications
[edit]- A Life's History Told in Homely Verse: And Miscellaneous Poems (1895)
- Poems (1901)
- Freedom Songs (1916)
- The Gospel of Feeding: From Childhood to Old Age (1925)
- Nature's Way: A Means of Health Without Medicine (1926, 1930)
- The Book of Health (1926)
- Constipation and Cancer (1927)
- Nature's Rebuilding Power (1927)
- Poems from Beyond (1927)
- The Cure of Cancer (1928)
- Food the Physician (1931)
- Cancer: A Word of Hope (1932)
- The Way to Health (1932)
- Too Much Doctoring (1932)
- Diet and Treatment in Sickness and Health (1933)
- Preventable Suffering (1934)
References
[edit]- ^ Wright, W. H. K. (1896). West-Country Poets: Their Lives and Works. London: Elliot Stock. p. 319
- ^ Cooke, Bill. (2004). The Gathering of Infidels: A Hundred Years of the Rationalist Press Association. Prometheus Books. pp. 284-286. ISBN 9781591021964
- ^ Unprecedented Success of a Wonderful Health Book. Weekly Dispatch (October 17, 1926). p. 10
- ^ Martyr, Philippa. (2002). Paradise of Quacks: An Alternative History of Medicine in Australia. Macleay Press. p. 229. ISBN 9781876492076
- ^ "Nature's Way Edited and Revised by George Ryley Scott". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
- ^ Stark, James F. (2020). The Cult of Youth: Anti-Ageing in Modern Britain. Cambridge University Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-1108484152
- ^ a b "Reviewed Works: How To Conquer Consumption by David Masters; The Book Of Health by Reddie Mallett; Cancer In Native Races by Frederick L. Hoffman; San Francisco Cancer Survey by Frederick L. Hoffman". The British Medical Journal. 1 (3457): 669–670.
- ^ a b Kearney, Patrick J; Boothroyd, David. (2013). Notes Towards a Catalogue of the British Library's S.S. Collection. London & Santa Rosa. pp. 167-168
- ^ Dietetic Discrepancies. Daily Mirror (January 15, 1935). p. 11
- ^ Mr. J. R. M. Mallett, Dunsford. Western Morning News (December 28, 1938). p. 9
