Description: Cancer, James T. Patterson observed in The Dread Disease, serves as a powerful metaphor in American culture, where the malady mirrors the “manifestation of social, economic, and ideological divisions” in modern life. In the decades since publication of Patterson’s book, medical research has made great strides in methods of detection and treatment. But the challenge for science
Description: Alien: to transfer property title or ownership; this is a specific use of a word that at the time could mean “to separate,” which is how our modern words alien meaning “extraterrestrial” and alienate are all etymologically related to this older word. Annuity: an annual payment or allowance. Henrietta Maria Walker received an annuity from her brother, Lumley Hungerford Keate,