A singular, compassionate history of humanity, told through the lens of a misunderstood disease. 'Superb.' TELEGRAPH 'Fascinating.' SPECTATOR 'Shocking, moving and sensitive.' TLS 'Uplifting.' THE TIMES 'Remarkable . . . grippingly and humanely recounted.' PHILIPPE SANDS 'It is impossible not to be moved by the lives unfolding in these pages, impossible not to be left transformed and enlightened. ' LEILA ABOULELA WINNER OF THE 2023 RSL GILES ST AUBYN AWARD The story of leprosy is the story of humanity. It is a story of isolation and exclusion, of resilience and resistance, one which has permeated global cultures in myriad ways for thousands of years, dividing the world into the 'clean' and the 'unclean'. Oliver Basciano's journey to demystify leprosy takes him from the Romanian border, the hinterlands of Brazil and the fringes of Siberia to the Japanese archipelago, Robben Island and the northern provinces of Mozambique. It reveals the image of medieval leprosy to be a
