Synopses & Reviews
On a cold day in 1667, a renegade physician named Jean Denis transfused calf's blood into one of Paris's most notorious madmen. In doing so, Denis angered not only the elite scientists who had hoped to perform the first animal-to-human transfusions themselves, but also a host of powerful conservatives who believed that the doctor was toying with forces of nature that he did not understand. Just days after the experiment, the madman was dead, and Denis was framed for murder.A riveting account of the first blood transfusion experiments in 17th-century Paris and London, Blood Work gives us a vivid glimpse of a particularly fraught period in history a time of fire and plague, empire building and international distrust, when monsters were believed to inhabit the seas and the boundary between science and superstition was still in flux. Amid this atmosphere of uncertainty, transfusionists like Denis became embroiled in the hottest cultural debates and fiercest political rivalries of their day. As historian Holly Tucker reveals, transfusion's detractors would stop at nothing not even murdering Denis's patient to outlaw a practice that might jeopardize human souls, pave the way for monstrous hybrid creatures, or even provoke divine retribution.Taking us from the highest ranks of society to the lowest, from dissection rooms in palaces to the filth-clogged streets of Paris, Blood Work sheds light on an era that wrestled with the same questions about morality and experimentation that haunt medical science to this day.
Review
"Ingenious, engaging, and disquieting. . . . Tucker masterfully narrates a rich tale about the competing passions of faith, politics, and knowledge." Boston Globe
Review
"Multilayered and engrossing . . . a riveting story." Seattle Times
Review
"Tucker's sleuthing adds drama to an utterly compelling picture of Europe at the moment when modern science was being shaped." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Smart and addictive." Deborah Blum, author of The Poisoner's Handbook
Synopsis
"Excellent. . . . Tucker's chronicle of the world of 17th-century science in London and Paris is fascinating."--
Synopsis
In December 1667, maverick physician Jean Denis transfused calf's blood into one of Paris's most notorious madmen. Days later, the madman was dead and Denis was framed for murder. A riveting exposé of the fierce debates, deadly politics, and cutthroat rivalries behind the first transfusion experiments, takes us from dissection rooms in palaces to the streets of Paris, providing an unforgettable portrait of an era that wrestled with the same questions about morality and experimentation that haunt medical science today.
About the Author
Holly Tucker is an associate professor at Vanderbilt University's Center for Medicine, Health & Society and Department of French & Italian. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.