Vital Organs

...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

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


The remarkable stories of the worlds most famous body parts.
Louis XIVs rear end inspired the British National Anthem.
Queen Victorias armpit led to the development of antiseptics.
Robert Jenkins 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 historys most-loved, and most-hated, were real breathing creatures who inhabited organs and limbs just like us - until theyre cut off that is.

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