The Disney+ series Shardlake is a mystery drama following the journey of Matthew Shardlake (Arthur Hughes), a barrister navigating Tudor England during the reign of Henry VIII. Shardlake’s character has scoliosis, a condition characterised by an irregular sideways twist of the spine, resulting in a visibly curved back with misaligned hips and shoulders.
Set against the backdrop of 16th-century England, Shardlake’s story unfolds in an era long pre-dating X-rays, which let us view the structure of the spine. Consequently, the understanding and treatment of conditions like scoliosis were rudimentary at best.
