title: Boswell's affective illness: a reappraisal.
abstract: James Boswell, the noted 18th-century writer, was well known to have suffered from bouts of melancholia, as well as episodic drunkenness, sexual excesses, irritability, and euphoric self-absorption. Drawing upon the writings of both Boswell and his biographers, the present work reconsiders Boswell's affective illness in modern psychiatric diagnostic terms. Boswell appears to have suffered from cyclothymic disorder, a highly prevalent disorder in successful 20th-century writers.
authors.forename: H R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Kranzler
mesh_terms: D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008093:Literature, Modern; D008297:Male; D012606:Scotland; D014956:Writing / Q000266:history*