For Fear of Pain: British Surgery, 1790-1850

by Peter Stanley

For Fear of Pain offers a social history of the operating room in Britain during the final decades of painful surgery. It asks profound how could surgeons operate upon conscious patients? How could patients submit? It presents a revisionist view of surgery, hygiene, nursing, military and naval surgery and the introduction of anaesthesia.

Genres: History

368 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

Peter Stanley is a leading military historian and author. A Stout Pair of Boots is based on his research on Australia's battlefields in many parts of the world. Formerly Principal Historian at the Australian War Memorial, he is now Director of the Centre for Historical Research at the National Museum of Australia.

Reviews

[Penny Hampson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent account of the history of surgery from 1790-1850. Written in accessible language, thoroughly researched and referenced. Would highly recommend for anyone interested in or writing about this period.

[Amanda Vallis Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a masterful telling of the story of British surgery for the period stated. It is incredibly well researched. My only complaint is in how difficult it was to access. It was hard to locate and when I did find a copy listed on Amazon it was for the princely sum of $133!!! Plus shipping lol.
I eventually located it from a Dutch publisher Antiquariaat Schot B.V. for $80, including shipping. It was worth it. As a science teacher with an (obviously, or at least you would hope so) interest in science and medicine, I had previously read The Knife Man, the book about John Hunter, the distinguished surgeon from the 18th century who famously advanced the scientific method and habit of observation in the practice of medicine. He died in 1793, so this book by Peter Stanley fabulously fills in the gap between his life and practice and more modern, certainly anaesthetised, surgery from 1850 on.
It was such a fascinating read, hindered only by the too-small font which made reading more of a task than it needed to be. I really hope that someone publishes this text in a more accessible fashion as I'm sure there is an eager readership out there which would really value and appreciate reading it if only they knew it existed.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of modern medicine.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible book that I would recommend to anyone. I'm knocking off a star because I was frustrated at points by Stanley's sheer inability to take a feminist or decolonial perspective. This left me with loads of questions about particular case studies and quotes. Simultaneously, if people have been able to look deeply into those questions, it is probably on the basis of the groundwork Stanley has laid.