You have to love a book that starts with a (possibly apocryphal) story of an operation with a 300% mortality rate and ends with the invention of Listerine and the founding of Johnson & Johnson.
This biography/medical history tells the life story of Dr. Joseph Lister, pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventive healthcare, considered the “father of modern surgery”. Building off of Louis Pasteur’s then-novel germ theory of fermentation, Lister was one of the first doctors to start sterilizing operating theaters and surgical instruments before use, as well as realizing that pus and “good old hospital stink” were not conducive to actually having patients survive.
From a young Quaker fascinated by his father’s microscopes to a surgeon trusted enough to treat Queen Victoria, you’ll get a deep dive into the long uphill climb Lister went through to get his findings respected anywhere other than France, Germany, or Hungary. No surprise the United States was one of the most resistant to any changes that might result in patients actually making it out of hospitals some way other than in a wooden box (American healthcare not really caring for the patients; wow, could you even imagine what that was like?)
It was interesting to see the steps it took to get Lister to the point of considering antiseptic surgery, never mind implementing it. The book is incredibly well-researched and well-written, in an informative style that is not the least bit dry. And at 286 pages, it is a surprisingly fast read (I do recommend reading the endnotes; you do get a lot of points filled out via them). To be honest, in some ways I wish it was longer; I know Fitzharris probably used all the information she could find (Lister wanted all of his personal papers burned after death; luckily his nephew didn’t listen), I just enjoyed the book so much I would have liked more. Be prepared for copious amounts of name-dropping; I was surprised by some of the people that were connected into the history. And of course being a book discussing the operating theaters of Victorian England and Scotland, be warned there are graphic descriptions of amputations, masectomies, and other surgeries of an invasive nature.