Vital Organs, Suzie Edge
Vital Organs, Suzie Edge
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

Vital Organs

Author: Suzie Edge

Narrator: Suzie Edge

Unabridged: 6 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Wildfire

Published: 09/28/2023


Synopsis

The remarkable stories of the world's most famous body parts.
Louis XIV's rear end inspired the British National Anthem.
Queen Victoria's armpit led the development of antiseptics.
Robert Jenkin's ear started a war.

All too often, historical figures feel distant and abstract; more myth and legend than real flesh and blood. These stories of bodies and its parts remind us that history's most-loved, and most-hated, were real breathing creatures who inhabited organs and limbs just like us - until they're cut off that is.

Medical historian Dr Suzie Edge investigates over 40 cases of how we've used, abused, dug up, displayed, experimented on, and worshipped body parts, including why Percy Shelley's heart refused to burn; how Yao Niang's toes started a 1000 year long ritual; why a giant's bones are making us rethink medical ethics; and the strange case of Hitler's right testicle.

About Suzie Edge

Suzie Edge is a medical doctor and history enthusiast, who has worked in a variety of medical specialties including infectious diseases, haematology, and trauma and orthopaedic surgery. She recently completed an MLitt in Modern History to feed her fascination for the history of the human body and the history of medicine. Always on the lookout for gory historical details, Suzie loves telling stories of how we have treated our human bodies in life and in death. Suzie has a black belt and is a trainee instructor in the martial art of Sooyang Do. She lives in a wee cottage in the Highlands of Scotland with her husband, their two teenage daughters and their dog, Scout.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Karen on February 04, 2024

It's no secret that I am a massive fan of Suzie Edge. Her TikTok and Instagram accounts are huge favourites of mine, and we also share a mutual appreciation for the acting abilities of James Purefoy..... This brilliant book showcases Suzie's trademark wit, warmth, intelligence and attention to detail......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on October 02, 2023

An accessible, digestible selection of stories from across history, taking you from head to toe through the human body via famous (and not so famous) figures. Suzie Edge has clearly had fun putting this book together, and the range of people featured gives it a strong through line - you don’t have t......more

Goodreads review by Tracey Allen on February 08, 2024

Vital Organs - A History of the World's Most Famous Body Parts by Suzie Edge has a nifty concept to pull in readers eager to discover the quirky stories behind 'history's most famous limbs, organs, and appendages'. With creatively titled chapter headings like Queen Victoria's Armpit (Chapter 16), Ki......more

Goodreads review by Katy on July 01, 2024

Fascinating details for those (like me) who like gory biology detail in historical context. Very much like Mortal Monarchs for me - real people and stories, the graphic details of their body parts (not as many deaths in this one, or as many kings - a few though!). I really enjoyed the mixture again of......more


Quotes

...a bracing adventure, and one where our ancestors are not reduced to characters of myth and legend, but real people of flesh and blood. It is through this most intimate dissection that the past is brought so vividly to life. The Telegraph

It's an incisive book (pun intended) that will leave you with a newfound appreciation of the vessel that carries you through life Irish Independent