Caroline Rance

Who was the Victorian doctor? A scientific hero responsible for world-changing medical advances, or an inept and traditionalist character with a fondness for leeches? A figure of both satire and reverence, the medical practitioner occupied a conflicted role in a society where progress and traditionalism were constantly at odds.The book will investigate the wide-ranging experiences of the Victorian doctor, from the student's first steps into the dissection room to the emergency midnight visits where anything could happen. Covering hospitals, crime, country life, quackery and more, Caroline Rance reveals the eventful lives of the men and women who treated the sick in Victorian Britain.

The history of medicine is a vast subject, encompassing the whole of humanity in every region of the globe. For millennia, our ancestors have sought to combat disease, relieve pain and postpone the Grim Reaper’s inevitable victory, doing so with a fortitude and humour that makes their experiences resonate with us today. In this book packed full of facts from medicine’s long and often shocking past, Caroline Rance gives concise introductions to some of the more well-known (and not-so-well-known) episodes, dispelling a few myths and celebrating a few neglected figures along the way.