An interesting history of the precursor to vaccination - inoculation of smallpox. Starts with the discovery of inoculation in Istanbul by a British noblewoman who then championed the practice back in England in the 1720s, which was then picked up by Sutton. Loads of parallels with ~current times~ especially how it took decades for the public to accept that inoculation and then vaccination was a good thing, how the success of inoculation and the ability to follow quarantining rules was ultimately a class issue, and the importance of religious leaders in promoting the practice to the public.

This was super well written and researched, easy to read and didn't get too bogged down in minute details. Sutton was a super interesting character in and of himself, especially when compared with Jenner in the latter chapters. He wasn't a medic or very high up in society and he seemed to battle against an inferiority complex throughout his life. He made the very anti-science choice to keep his methods a secret and charge others for the knowledge. Despite this, it is terrible that his contribution to modern medicine has been overlooked.

Wonderful look at an unsung pioneer

I loved this book. The writing is great and the book was hard to put down. I especially liked how Sutton and Jenner were juxtaposed. I’ve read a lot about vaccination but had never come across the story of Sutton. I also liked that the book didn’t go into the minutiae of Sutton’s life but told me enough to get an appreciation. The photos in the book were also informative. Overall, this is a great book and should be of interest to anyone interested in the history of medicine. It makes a great companion for DA Henderson’s “Smallpox: The death of a disease”.
Disclosure: I received an advance reader copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.