Saving the Quality

Abstract

This chapter examines how Princess Caroline an extraordinary medical experiment to take place in London's notorious Newgate Gaol. It was this bold — and by today's standards quite unethical — trial of the safety of inoculation that first introduced the novel procedure to the public. The Newgate trial was a success, yet most of the medical profession disapproved. The Newgate experiment for 'saving the lives of the Quality' only served to stir controversy over the value of inoculation and it did not persuade Princess Caroline or her medical advisers that she should follow Lady Mary's example. A question raised by William Wagstaffe, the Barts physician fiercely opposed to inoculation, was whether or not the Newgate prisoners had suffered from 'genuine' smallpox. If they had not, they would still not be immune to the true disease. This was a worrying question for Princess Caroline and her royal doctors.