The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine

In the first decade of the last century my grandmother, then a young medical student in London, heard Lord Lister lecture about the benefits of antisepsis in medical practice. Seventy years earlier her grandfather had been the first doctor to successfully treat a young agricultural worker with a compound fractured femur by setting the leg in traction in a trough filled with plaster of Paris. The young man made a full recovery, but he was lucky. If he had been admitted to hospital his chances of survival would have been very poor. Lindsey Fitzharris’s new biography of Joseph Lister makes it all too clear how a failure to understand the causes of infection, combined with (to us) utterly horrifying disregard of even basic hygiene, led to death from sepsis, gangrene and other infections that we would now recognise arose from bacterial infection. And not only patients died, doctors who handled infected patients or who cut themselves during surgery (which had to be performed at lightning speed before anaesthetics became available) also died of infection. Ironically the advent of anaesthesia actually increased mortality because more operations could be performed. Lister’s Quaker background and his father’s improvements to the microscope combined with Lister’s own talents as a surgeon resulted eventually in success after many years of struggling to improve patient survival rates and eliminate deaths from infection. But Lister had not only to develop methods of keeping wounds clean and free from infection, and a theory of why the techniques worked, he had also to fight a medical profession whose models of the causes of disease rejected any notion that ‘germs’ might have a part to play. By the time my grandmother heard Lister lecture he was a grand old man of the profession, but that position was hard won. Without his persistence and meticulous scientific approach modern surgery would be impossible, deaths from even minor injuries common and childbirth frequently fatal. In a world threatened with the loss of antibiotics we do well to remember how critical his discoveries were. Lindsey Fitzharris has written a thoroughly researched and highly readable account of how Lister changed the world. What a pity there are no illustrations, nevertheless it makes a gripping read.

What an absolutely absorbing and informative account of Victorian surgery this is. Joseph Lister was a toweringly important figure in the transformation of medical treatment from, quite literally, the butchering of the unfortunate public into something more closely resembling modern medicine, and richly deserves this comprehensively researched and well written account of his life and times. Coming to this book soon after watching the BBC sitcom Quacks, I was actually taken aback at the parallels between comedic fiction and real life. Building on Pasteur's insights, Lister struggled to convince the medical establishment of the truth of germ theory - without which his antiseptic surgical techniques would have been pretty meaningless. But he proselytised his theories and demonstrated his techniques endlessly down the years, until eventually a new generation of surgeons schooled in his approach became the new establishment. Lindsey Fitzharris tells an often gory story with verve and enthusiasm. I read this book through in a single day, and enjoyed every minute of it.

I really enjoyed this book, and don't recall having come across anything similar to it in the past. There are graphic descriptions of diverse accidents, crimes against, and medical conditions of actual patients in Victorian Britain; as well as the treatment they received and their subsequent fate. This alongside a professional biography of Joseph Lister, who revolutionized the field of western medicine. A very interesting subject matter and execution in general. Not incredibly difficult to read, but still offers up clear and detailed information and history.

Essential reading for anyone interested in science, medicine or history in general. Superbly researched. A revealing, engrossing and often witty account of one of the 19th century's greatest pioneers. Fitzharris writes with pace and clarity, and the rare ability to put the reader at the scene. Very highly recommended. Will be buying her other books soon.

The Butchering Art is one of my favourite non fiction reads this year - I couldn’t put it down! Lindsey Fitzharris recounts the fascinating story of Joseph Lister, and his quest to improve the chances of patients undergoing surgery in 19th century Britain who, more often than not, died of post-operative infection. Full of quirky facts, wry observations and gruesome details, this is a gripping book. Meticulously researched and brilliantly written, Lindsey recreates the horrors of early Victorian hospitals, where surgeons carried out surgical procedures without anaesthetic, in the most unsanitary of conditions. Against this grim background, she weaves the pioneering work of Joseph Lister, whose antiseptic régime saved thousands of lives. The Butchering Art is an inspiring story told through a compelling narrative - highly recommended!

Fascinating biography of one of the foremost men in medicine.

Im rekindled with curiosity towards medicine again .... For I am a medical student too Great read to go through

This book focuses on the practice of surgery in the 19th century through a societal framework but also specifically focusing on Joseph Lister, a Quaker surgeon. Lindsey Fitzharris discusses the major changes that have taken place to transform surgery from a gruesome, deadly act to the more humane, effective procedure we are accustomed to seeing today. It was so interesting to see how things we take for granted in the modern world would have seemed so crazy or ridiculous to surgeons in the 19th century. During this time, surgery was a crude, barbaric procedure that was always considered the last resort of treatment. Even if patients were lucky enough to survive the actual surgery, many would die due to complications that arose after the surgery. The post-operative recovery period was fraught with infection. The few doctors that performed surgeries are described in a way that is more reminiscent of villians from B-horror movies than medical professionals. Example: <i>The surgeon, wearing a blood-encrusted apron, rarely washed his hands or his instruments and carried with him into the theater the unmistakable smell of rotting flesh, which those in the profession cheerfully referred to as “good old hospital stink.</i> What was especially interesting to me is the perception that society had of surgeons during this time period. The surgeon was very much viewed as a manual labourer who used his hands to make a living rather than a respected and educated member of the medical community. Nothing better demonstrated this fact than their abject poverty. A far cry to contemporary surgeons with their lucrative six figure incomes! Enter Joseph Lister, a Quaker surgeon hoping to transform the brutal act of surgery to a procedure that can be effectively used, prolonging life instead of shortening it. Lister claimed that germs were the source of all infection. These germs could be eliminated with the use of sterilizing agents. This seems like common sense to us but at the time this idea caused quite the kerfuffle in the medical community. Nobody wanted to believe that they could have prevented so many needless deaths in such a simple way. One of the major selling points of this book is the way Lindsey Fitzharris writes. She does not hold back. I was completely enthralled by the narrative. At times, I felt as though I was physically wallowing in the filth and grime of Victorian society. It is hard to believe that this is a debut work. Even though this is a shorter book (less than 300 pages), I feel like the author fully fleshed out what she set out to do. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of medicine or anyone who is looking for a well written nonfiction narrative that will keep them hooked until the last page!

Once I watched a video of Sting, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and Phil Collins, playing “Money for Nothing”, and I remember thinking that it was the most awesome video of all times – real legends together playing an amazing song… I could only wish I was there. Reading this book I had the same sensation: some of the greatest names we all have studied with regards to Biology (and Medicine, I suppose), all coexisting in the 19th century while trying to find answers for many now very obvious questions of medicine – anesthesia, infection, contamination, etc. I am no doctor, nor I work on the medical area, but this book has taught me so many interesting things about how some of the greatest discoveries were made in the field. All is written with Joseph Lister’s life as the connecting thread. It is a general knowledge book, and I think knowledge is never enough!

Very well written and captivating account on the discoveries of medicine in the Victorian age. Fun and interesting read.

Adorei! Narra a história de um médico na era vitoriana. Desde o início de seu aprendizado até o fim de sua vida descrevendo em detalhes os avanços tecnológicos da época.