The Butchering Art

Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine

By: Lindsey Fitzharris

Narrated by: Sam Woolf

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris, read by Sam Woolf.

In The Butchering Art, historian Lindsey Fitzharris recreates a critical turning point in the history of medicine, when Joseph Lister transformed surgery from a brutal, harrowing practice to the safe, vaunted profession we know today.

Victorian operating theatres were known as 'gateways of death', Fitzharris reminds us, since half of those who underwent surgery didn't survive the experience. This was an era when a broken leg could lead to amputation, and surgeons were still known to ransack cemeteries to find cadavers. And in squalid, overcrowded hospitals, doctors remained baffled by the persistent infections that kept mortality rates stubbornly high.

At a time when surgery couldn't have been more dangerous, an unlikely figure stepped forward: Joseph Lister, a young Quaker surgeon. By making the audacious claim that germs were the source of all infection - and could be treated with antiseptics - he changed the history of medicine forever. With a novelist's eye for detail, Fitzharris brilliantly conjures up the grisly world of Victorian surgery, revealing how one of Britain's greatest medical minds finally brought centuries of savagery, sawing and gangrene to an end.

Critic reviews

Gruesomely compelling ... A fascinating account (Nick Rennison)

Gloriously pulsating ... [Fitzharris] has an eye for morbid detail, visceral imagery and comic potential. From out of this hellish vision, Lister emerges as the cool, modern, scientific saviour to whom we should all give thanks (Wendy Moore)

Atmospheric ... The Butchering Art has its share of resplendent gore (Jennifer Senior)

Thoroughly enjoyable ... With The Butchering Art, Fitzharris explores the intersection of Lister's life, the development of antiseptic surgery, and the horrors of the wards with an almost surgical precision (Nicola Davis, 'Book of the Day')

The Butchering Art is a formidable achievement - a rousing take told with brio, featuring a real-life hero worthy of the ages and jolts of Victorian horror to rival the most lurid moments of Wilkie Collins (John J. Ross)

Brilliant ... Thanks to Lister's dogged pursuit of knowledge and fervent attention to the needs of surgical patients, death rates plummeted. Fitzharris tells this story with an equal attention to detail (Joanna Bourke)

Scintillating and shocking ... A book full of gangrene, pus and hideous pain, which will make you thankful never to suffer the horror of having a tumour removed from your jaw with no pain relief (Bee Wilson)

Hugely entertaining and informative ... Fitzharris brings [Joseph Lister's] sensibility to life with great energy and elegance, and her account is vivid and entertaining, as well as enjoyably (and sometimes eye-wateringly) graphic. The result is rich with anecdote and intellectual excitement, replete with emotional resonance and narrative pleasure (Matthew Adams)

An illuminating and grisly look at the work of hacksaw-wielding surgeons of the 19th century (Sian Cain)

Well researched and written with verve... A fine read full of vivid detail, prompting thoughtful reflection on the past, and the challenging future, of surgical practice (Tilli Tansey)

Super interesting

I loved both the story and the narration. I strongly suggest listening to this book to someone who is interested in medicine.

Great book :)

Great book , loved it. Great narration. Lindsey nailed it . Great book, great book , great book

great book

very captivating, great insight in Victorian era medicine and its surroundings. the author not only covers the medicine aspects but also details living conditions and state of the cities in this era

From House of Death to House of Health

A lovely little book! The focus is very much on Joseph Lister, with his work put into context within the era. I missed, however, a bit more biochemical substance. For example about the disinfectants effect on bacteria and the body. We are told that it works, but not how.

It's an entertaining text and very much worth the read.

A masterpiece turning biography into art.

It is difficult to decide whether to classify this book as a piece of fictional literature, or surgical biography. The author approaches the telling of this biography with a novelist's sensibilities, and it is to their endless credit.

There is hardly a page that passes which is not endlessly entertaining and divinely captivating. The author strikes the perfect balance between the enumeration of biographical facts, the description of the societal and historical contexts within which the narrated events transpire, and the almost novelist narration of thought and drama.

Whether the prospective reader is a medical professional, a history enthusiast, a literary connoisseur, or a casual dabbler, this is a manifestly beneficious choice.