Blood Work A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution

by Tucker, Holly

• ISBN13: 9780393070552
• ISBN10: 0393070557
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-03-21
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Summary

On a cold day in December 1667 the renegade physician Jean Denis transfused ten ounces of calf's blood into Antoine Mauroy, a madman. Several days and several transfusions later, Mauroy was dead and Denis was framed for murder. A riveting and wide-reaching history, Blood Work shows how blood transfusion became swept up in personal vendettas, international intrigues, and the war between science and superstition. In a foreshadowing of today's stem cell and cloning debates, proponents saw transfusion as a long-awaited cure to deadly illnesses, while others worried that science was toying with forces of nature, perhaps even paving the way for monstrous hybrid creatures. Taking us from the highest ranks of society to the lowest, Holly Tucker introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters, all ruthless contenders in the battle over transfusion. Finally, in a feat of historical research, she reveals the true identities of Mauroy's murderers-and their motivations to kill.

Table of Contents

Note on Translations	p. xi
Dramatis Personae	p. xiii
Prologue	p. xvii
The Doctor and the Madman	p. 1
Circulation	p. 14
The Age of Vivisection	p. 28
Plague and Fire	p. 37
Philosophical Transactions	p. 58
Noble Ambitions	p. 77
ôHow High will he not Climb?ö	p. 87
The King's Library	p. 102
The Philosopher's Stone	p. 114
The Blood of a Beast	p. 127
The Tower of London	p. 136
Bedlam	p. 155
Monsters and Marvels	p. 174
The Widow	p. 184
The Affair of the Poisons	p. 193
Chimeras	p. 211
Epilogue	p. 227
Blood Transfusion: A Chronology	p. 233
Acknowledgments	p. 235
Notes	p. 241
Bibliography	p. 265
Illustration Credits	p. 291
Index	p. 293
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