This is the true story of a remarkable doctor, Robert Storrs, who worked in the Yorkshire town of Doncaster in the first half of the 19th century. The author is one of about 500 great-great-grandchildren of this Robert and he inherited the medical case books of his ancestor. When they were transcribed they showed what a discerning man he was.

Dr Tooth also acquired some 130 letters written between Robert and his wife Martha. About half of them were written in the three years before their marriage, and the remainder whenever they were parted after marriage. The material in the case books is presented without emotion, though the letters reveal a very human, caring and loving man who adored his wife and revelled in the enjoyment of their very large family. Together the letters and case books produce an exciting picture of a dedicated doctor whose death from typhus at the early age of 46 must have been devastating for his widow and 12 children.

This book shows what it was like to be sick or injured before the days of bacteriology, anaesthetics, asepsis and knowledge of the causes of diseases. Material from the case books is presented with great realism. Storrs’ account of the cholera epidemic of 1832 is horrifying but even in the midst of that he could write about his children and their activities.

***

Dr John Tooth was born, brought up and educated in England but has spent most of his professional life in Tasmania, Australia.

He has been a consultant psychiatrist since 1965 and in later years he specialised in psychogeriatrics and particularly in dementia care. In 2002 he published Dementia Care – the Adards Way.

From his childhood he has had a fascination with history. He has been lecturing in history at the University of the Third Age for the last 15 years. His other relaxation is landscape gardening.

***

This book review appeared in Education Journal No.104, August 2007.

A Doctor’s tale

Humane and Heroic: The life and love of a 19th century country doctor by Dr John Tooth, Artemis Publishing, Australia. £20.00 +£2.50 postage and packing, EPC Books, Devonia House, 4 Union Terrace, Crediton, Devon, EX17 3DY. ISBN: 978-0-97550082-1-8.

Demitri Coryton

This book is a rare gem. It is rare in the literal sense of being privately published in Australia, though printed in Britain and available from the publisher of this magazine. It is also rare in the general sense of being an unusual book based on original source material not previously available, about a specialist field but also of interest to the general reader.
     It is the story of Dr Robert Storrs, a family doctor – or surgeon apothecary in the language of the time – who lived in Doncaster in the first half of the 19th century. Unusually for the time, he left detailed clinical notes about his more interesting cases. A man with an inquiring mind, he was ahead of his time in much of his medical thinking. This was a time before bacteriology, anaesthetics or asepsis when knowledge of the causes of diseases was very limited. Drawn from Dr Storrs’ medical case books, the description of the cholera epidemic of 1832 is horrific.
     Just how different things were then is illustrated by this passage, describing treatment of a case of pleurisy. “A modern doctor would have listened to the chest with a stethoscope and then sent the patient for X-ray. Stethoscopy had not reached the provinces at this time and X-rays were not invented until 1895. So for Storrs this was a sudden onset of illness in the chest without any idea of what caused it. As the thinking of the day dictated, Storrs bled him and purged him and placed blisters over the painful area. However, the man died ten days later.”
     Yet there is another source for the story told in this book and that is the 131 letters written between Dr Storrs and his wife Martha that have survived. While the case books are written in unemotional medical terms the letters are full of life, love and the observations of two intelligent people on the dramatic events of their time.
     While the cholera epidemic of 1832 was a major event in the doctor’s life, there is also fascinating material on the views he and his wife had of the Great Reform Bill and general election of the same year. They were radicals with an interest in politics.
     Dr and Mrs Storrs travelled from Doncaster to London and back, often via other parts of the country rather than the most direct route. They started their married life in the heyday of stage coach travel, when the options were “safety and stink” of fellow passengers inside the coach or “clean air and hazard” on top, where falling asleep on a long journey could result in falling off the coach as it sped along. By the time Dr Storrs died of typhus aged only 46 years old he had experienced the very different style of travel on the new railways.
     What makes this book come alive is the way the author, one of over 500 great-great-grandchildren of Dr Storrs, is able to interpret the medical history in the context of both the time and developments since. As a medical doctor practicing in both Britain and then Australia, John Tooth has the necessary insight to do that. And he is a good story teller, and this is an interesting story to tell.
     While the book is of particular relevance to those interested in the history of medicine, it is also an intriguing insight into life in late Georgian and early Victorian England. Dr Storrs treated patients from the aristocracy to the poorest Irish immigrants so, unusually for this era, the original source material covers all classes.