Use of Laudanum in the Mid-19th Century

Authors continue to research aspects of their plots throughout the drafting and revising of their novels. For my current work-in-progress, I’ve had to revisit old research topics, and today’s post discusses a new line of research. (I hope no one ever researches my web search history. It is full of violent topics.)

I’ve decided one of the characters in my next novel will be addicted to laudanum. She is an older woman with a sad past, and I need a reason for some of her actions to be unpredictable. I also need a way to get her “off stage” on occasion, and a drug-induced stupor will work well for that purpose.

Many women in the mid-19th century did become addicted to opium through use of laudanum and other “tonics,” which were often advertised for female complaints. So having my character searching for her “cordial” at various points in the plot seems to work.

Laudanum is a tincture made by dissolving opium extracts in alcohol. It contains both morphine and codeine. It was used until the early 20th century for many purposes, including to reduce pain, promote sleep, alleviate coughing, and soothe the digestive tract. Women often used it to relieve menstrual cramps, but many women used it to alleviate a wide assortment of “nervous conditions.”

For adults, two popular tonics containing laudanum were Godfrey’s Cordial and Dalby’s Carminative. Both were English drugs that were imported to the United States from the very inception of the American colonies.

Soon, however, these and similar drugs were manufactured in the U.S. more than they were imported. (A recipe for Dalby’s Carminative can be found here.) These medicines were so popular and so ubiquitous that every druggist was expected to have them on hand. Various versions of these tincures were sold in the U.S. until after 1900. Without a Food and Drug Administration to approve medications, anyone could buy these drugs over the counter.

Adults weren’t the only people treated with laudanum and similar drugs. Children also were give opium syrups. One popular patent medicine containing laudanum was Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup. This syrup contained morphine and was sold as a medicine to soothe teething babies. It was even advertised as “a mother’s friend.”

Laudanum is a very strong opium tincture, and it was frequently the cause of intentional and unintentional deaths in the 19th century. A quick perusal of Oregon newspapers found several reports of individuals attempting (and often succeeding) at suicide by ingesting laudanum.

So my character’s laudanum addiction will be a useful plot device. I need to spend some time rewriting earlier chapters of the book to add in allusions to her dependency. Still, the time it will take to rewrite will strengthn the novel. Her addiction is a better plot device than some of the orchestrations I wrote earlier to get her out of scenes conveniently. It makes her character more believable, while leading more naturally to a plot twist between two other characters.

Of course, I’m still writing the first draft of the book, so who knows what will end up in the published version?

Writers, when have you had to rewrite your novels to make the plot work better?