The Knife Man Synopsis
WINNER OF THE MEDICAL JOURNALISTS' OPEN BOOK AWARD 2005
Revered and feared in equal measure, John Hunter was the most famous surgeon of eighteenth-century London. Rich or poor, aristocrat or human freak, suffering Georgians knew that Hunter's skills might well save their lives -but if he failed, their corpses could end up on his dissecting table, their bones and organs destined for display in his remarkable, macabre museum.
Maverick medical pioneer, adored teacher, brilliant naturalist, Hunter was a key figure of the Enlightenment who transformed surgery, advanced biological understanding and even anticipated the evolutionary theories of Darwin. He provided inspiration both for Dr Jekyll and Dr Dolittle. But the extremes to which he went to pursue his scientific mission raised question marks then as now.
John Hunter's extraordinary world comes to life in this remarkable, award-winning biography written by a wonderful new talent.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780553816181 |
| Publication date: |
3rd April 2006 |
| Author: |
Wendy Moore |
| Publisher: |
Bantam Press an imprint of Transworld |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
638 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Biographies & Autobiographies
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Wendy Moore Press Reviews
'Extensively researched and gruesomely compelling, this stunning biography has all the ingredients of a first class best seller. One warning: not to be taken with food! Brilliant' ALISON WEIR
'An extraordinary insight into the experimental, macabre world of a remarkable eighteenth- century surgeon who risked all to learn about the hitherto unknown workings of the human body. From a first glance at the compelling chapter titles - who could resist 'The Surgeon's Penis' - I was gripped by this fascinating medical melodrama.' JOSCELINE DIMBLEBY
Moore has recreated Hunter’s life and times in wonderfully rich detail – the primitive operations without anaesthesia, the bitter rivalries and battles, the struggle against snobbery and orthodoxy, the many exchanges with political, philosophical and literary luminaries of his day – all set against a kaleidoscopic Hogarthian backdrop of gin-shops, brothels, elegant drawing rooms, charnel houses and crude operating theatres. This is a truly fascinating read.’ DR ALAN MARYON DAVIS, WRITER, BROADCASTER AND SENIOR CONSULTANT, GUY'S HOSPITAL
‘Here is a perfect subject for a biography: an exciting and informed account of Hunter's life and times.' PUBLISHING NEWS
About Wendy Moore
Wendy Moore began her first newspaper job at the age of nineteen. Initially working as a crime reporter, tracking stories such as the Dennis Nielsen murders, she was switched to reporting health issues.
Having always been interested in history, Wendy began researching the history of medicine several years ago. In 1999 she completed the Diploma in the History of Medicine of the Society of Apothecaries (DHMSA) and won the Maccabean prize for the best dissertation that year. Soon afterwards she decided to write a biography of John Hunter, the 18th-century surgeon who launched a revolution in medicine. The book, The Knife Man: The Extraordinary Life and Times of John Hunter, Father of Modern Surgery, won the Medical Journalists' Association Consumer Book Award in 2005 and was short-listed for the biennial Marsh Biography Award.
She has appeared on television: Medical Mavericks and Ian Rankin investigates: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Wendy lives in London with her husband Peter and her two children, Sam and Susannah.
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