Godfrey's Cordial

A woman and physician funnelling Godfrey's Cordial into a resisting man

Godfrey's Cordial was a patent medicine, containing laudanum (tincture of opium) in a sweet syrup, which was commonly used as a sedative to quiet infants and children in Victorian England.[1] Used mostly by mothers working in agricultural groups or industry,[2] it ensured that she could work the maximum hours of her employment, without being disturbed by her infant, and thus increased the family income.[3] It was also used by nurses and baby-minders to enable them to neglect their duties if they wished.[3][4]

  1. ^ Jordan, Thomas E. (1 February 1987). "The Keys of Paradise: Godfrey's Cordial and Children in Victorian Britain". Journal of the Royal Society of Health. 107 (1): 19–22. doi:10.1177/146642408710700109. ISSN 0264-0325. PMID 3102733. S2CID 9759769.
  2. ^ Parssinen, Terry M. (1983). Secret Passions, Secret Remedies: Narcotic Drugs in British Society, 1820-1930. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719009525.
  3. ^ a b Lomax, Elizabeth (1973). "The Uses and Abuses of Opiates in Nineteenth-Century England". Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 47 (2): 167–176. JSTOR 44447528. PMID 4584236.
  4. ^ Parssinen, Terry M. (1983). Secret Passions, Secret Remedies: Narcotic Drugs in British Society, 1820–1930. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719009525.