The Knife Man

The remarkable true story of John Hunter, a maverick surgeon who was as renowned and respected in Georgian England as he was feared and reviled. In an era when bloodletting was considered a cure for everything from colds to smallpox, surgeon John Hunter was a medical innovator, an eccentric, and the person to whom anyone who has ever had surgery probably owes his or her life. In this sensational and macabre story, we meet the surgeon who counted not only luminaries Benjamin Franklin, Lord Byron, Adam Smith, and Thomas Gainsborough among his patients but also "resurrection men" among his close acquaintances. A captivating portrait of his ruthless devotion to uncovering the secrets of the human body, and the extraordinary lengths to which he went to do soincluding body snatching, performing pioneering medical experiments, and infecting himself with venereal diseasethis rich historical narrative at last acknowledges this fascinating man and the debt we owe him today.

Wendy Moore is a writer and journalist, specializing in health and medical topics. She has a diploma in the History of Medicine from the Society of Apothecaries. The Knife Man is her first book.


From the Hardcover edition.