332:, Anne Crowther was highly critical of the book, saying that it "follows Lister’s career well but is weaker on historical context, succumbing to popular history’s search for ‘colour’ at all costs", including generalizations of history that lead to inaccuracies and misinformation, including false quote attribution and statistical math. This, she added, along with how specialized hospitals and other medical workers are presented from the period as compared to Lister would leave readers with a "very old-fashioned view of the subject" that does not match up with modern scholarship.
281:
the book is often overblown in its descriptions of Lister and tends to "stray towards the sycophantic", with several of its claims about the medical community at the time and the adoption of germ-based ideas, which were already coming into vogue through the 1850s, being at odds with other modern research by
Christopher Lawrence, Michael Brown, and Richard Dixey. Martin Edwards in the
311:, John J. Ross referred to the book as a "formidable achievement--a rousing tale told with brio" that successfully manages to restore "this neglected champion of evidence-based medicine to a central place in the history of medicine". Though he also notes that Fitzharris is "occasionally fuzzy on clinical matters", such as describing
280:
s Agnes Arnold-Forster saw the book in two lights. On one hand she considered the book a "compelling read" that "skillfully deploys narrative tension" from chapter to chapter, forming a work that would interest the general public and inform them about this period of history. But on a scholarly front,
259:
critiqued the book as being an "imperfect first effort, stronger at the beginning than at the end, and a bit workaday when it isn’t freaky". But she also noted that the story told within is "one of abiding fascination" because it involves a concept, doctors cutting open bodies with unclean tools and
248:
described the book as "equal parts a queasy outline of
Victorian medicine and a quiet story of a life spent pushing for scientific progress" and, despite being a niche subject matter, suggested that there is "something that feels vital in a book about horrors everyone accepted as the costs of doing
172:
The book is split into a prologue, eleven chapters, and an epilogue. The prologue discusses a general overview of the time period as an "age of agony" that was nearing its end thanks to the emergence of Joseph Lister. Each subsequent chapter covers an ongoing history of Lister's life from childhood
270:
wrote that despite the subject matter being a "reluctant hero" that might otherwise lend to a boring history, Fitzharris "skillfully negotiates this hazard by illuminating the characters and ideas of the time" alongside an "eye for morbid detail, visceral imagery and comic potential" that gives a
291:
would be disagreeable to some historians. He nonetheless considered the book "fun, fascinating, easy to read, and assumes no prior historical knowledge" for readers that overall "deserves a place by the bedside of any clinician interested in a glorious pus-and- blood-filled romp".
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as one of its special picks and top 10 science books of the year, pointing out that
Fitzharris' book "infuses her thoughtful and finely crafted examination of this revolution with the same sense of wonder and compassion Lister himself brought to his patients". For the
38:
325:
considered the book as "well researched and written with verve", along with being a "fine read full of vivid detail", though also explained how
Fitzharris "takes some licence with speculative conversations, thoughts and emotions, and a few anachronisms irk". In
177:
interspersed with other events and accounts of the medical profession during the time period. The coverage of Lister's life is largely based on
Fitzharris' use of his personal letters and the account they give of his activities and thought processes.
198:. Bringing his father's microscope to university and using it for microscopic examination of tissue, he created new ways to treat surgical wounds in the hopes of reducing post-surgical infections. Other scientists, such as
189:
and how an unconscious patient significantly increased the ability for surgeons to complete their operations and have their patients survive. It then moves to Lister's childhood and his fascination with his father,
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wished that some pictures had been included for the grisly descriptions and pointed out that the uncritical history of Lister's life alongside implications of him pre-empting
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hands was harming their patients, that is so simple and straightforward that the idea it even had to be thought up is hard to conceive. Conducting a review for
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as rare, and that the book avoids mentioning any of the negative aspects about Lister, such as his sexism toward female medical students.
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sprays. His methodology was criticized by several others in the scientific community, but his 1871 successful treatment of
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808:"Lindsey Fitzharris, The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine"
385:
328:
199:
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206:, also made breakthroughs in understanding how microorganisms led to disease. Lister's discovery in 1864 of
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resulted in the widespread adoption of his antiseptic techniques, which he formally presented at the 1876
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174:
161:
312:
703:"Books: The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine"
152:
and the unclean conditions of hospitals and other facilities at the time. The book was given the 2018
545:
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245:
181:
The historical account's prologue starts in 1846 and the first surgical operation with any form of
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18:
The
Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine
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745:"The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine"
456:"The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine"
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The
Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine
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386:"Female-dominated Wellcome book prize shortlist spans Victorian surgery and modern Nigeria"
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500:"The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris — a gripping tale of medical endeavour"
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to reduce the extremely high death rates of the time period. Published by
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670:"The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris review – grisly medicine"
249:
business, and the importance of persistence in seeing results".
351:"Fitzharris '04 Earns PEN America Award for The Butchering Art"
148:
on
October 17, 2017, the book includes graphic descriptions of
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medicine between the 1840s and 1870s, along with how surgeon
418:"Shortlist announced for the 2018 Wolfson History Prize"
779:"Review: 'The Butchering Art' Resurrects Joseph Lister"
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598:"No One's Hands Are Clean In 'The Butchering Art'"
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634:"The Story of How Surgeons Cleaned Up Their Act"
154:PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award
104:PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award
194:'s, work in optics and the development of the
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128:is a 2017 historical nonfiction book by
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156:and was shortlisted for both the 2018
757:from the original on October 29, 2023
682:from the original on October 29, 2023
646:from the original on October 29, 2023
610:from the original on October 29, 2023
497:Lethbridge, Lucy (October 27, 2017).
478:from the original on October 29, 2023
432:from the original on October 29, 2023
398:from the original on October 29, 2023
365:from the original on October 29, 2023
7:
214:led to his eventual introduction of
806:Crowther, Anne (October 19, 2019).
708:British Journal of General Practice
574:from the original on August 3, 2023
454:Arnold-Forster, Agnes (June 2018).
284:British Journal of General Practice
776:Ross, John J. (October 13, 2017).
25:
530:Tansey, Tilli (October 5, 2017).
349:Twork, John (February 21, 2018).
384:Flood, Alison (March 19, 2018).
132:that discusses the evolution of
873:Farrar, Straus and Giroux books
140:revolutionized the practice of
27:2017 book by Lindsey Fitzharris
701:Edwards, Martin (April 2018).
271:deeper personality to Lister.
228:International Medical Congress
1:
58:Nonfiction, history, medicine
868:History books about medicine
359:Illinois Wesleyan University
889:
813:Social History of Medicine
532:"Health: The war on germs"
329:Social History of Medicine
200:Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
146:Farrar, Straus and Giroux
75:Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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210:'s work on the cause of
422:thebritishacademy.ac.uk
853:2017 non-fiction books
471:10.14296/RiH/2014/2256
858:Popular science books
721:10.3399/bjgp18X695585
632:(November 29, 2017).
192:Joseph Jackson Lister
162:Wolfson History Prize
668:(October 12, 2017).
596:(October 21, 2017).
594:Valentine, Genevieve
785:Wall Street Journal
550:2017Natur.550...36T
308:Wall Street Journal
246:Genevieve Valentine
218:through the use of
158:Wellcome Book Prize
66:1840s-1870s England
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31:The Butchering Art
826:10.1093/shm/hkz101
715:(669): 192.1–192.
461:Reviews in History
428:. April 16, 2018.
313:Hodgkin's lymphoma
302:The Butchering Art
276:Reviews in History
234:Critical reception
150:operating theaters
130:Lindsey Fitzharris
49:Lindsey Fitzharris
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289:germ theory
268:Wendy Moore
216:antiseptics
63:Set in
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820:(1): 286.
336:References
196:microscope
183:anesthetic
568:205095502
300:selected
244:, author
175:vignettes
71:Publisher
755:Archived
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430:Archived
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546:Bibcode
355:iwu.edu
253:in the
168:Content
142:surgery
55:Subject
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537:Nature
322:Nature
99:Awards
45:Author
564:S2CID
102:2018
91:Pages
833:2023
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