A review by bookishwendy
Dr. Mütter's Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz

3.0

I'm always interested to learn about the history of medicine. Dr. Mutter's Marvels contains enough interesting sciencey bits--the description of how he conducted "plastic surgery" on disfigured burn victims is particularly compelling--but the book as a whole didn't engage me on the same level as [b:The Knife Man: Blood, Body Snatching, and the Birth of Modern Surgery|161724|The Knife Man Blood, Body Snatching, and the Birth of Modern Surgery|Wendy Moore|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320399112s/161724.jpg|156086]. I think this is because Dr. Mutter comes across as rather romanticized. He comes across as an intelligent, nearly saintly man whose worst vice is a tendency to dress like a dandy. The author interprets a lot of his inner thoughts and feelings, but I can't help but wonder what other unknown darknesses the man must have held. The Knife Man, on the other hand, depicts surgeon John Hunter in a more warts-and-all manner. He genuinely wanted to cure people, yes, but sometimes his more morbid curiosities caused trouble for him, though his thoughts and emotions were only speculated at. Still, Mutter was a fascinating person in his own right, as was the mid-19th century medical field to which he contributed a number of revolutionary ideas which we take for granted these days (such his determination to make surgical anesthesia a standard, not "crack-pot", practice).