I really enjoyed the historical details and the medical breakthroughs in Till Taught by Pain, and Caroline and Dr. Halsted’s relationship was compelling. That said, in my opinion, the story felt a bit slow at times, which made it harder to stay fully engaged. Still, I liked the characters and the emotional depth, and I’m glad I read it, I just wished the pacing had been a little tighter.

⭐ Rating: 4/5

I went in expecting a House, M.D. style story, but this turned out to be something quite different. The side characters do not leave much of an impression, although the central relationship adds some warmth and tension.

The pacing feels uneven, with the early sections moving too quickly while the middle drags. The prose is very dialogue heavy and offers little insight into the characters’ inner thoughts until later in the book. That said, the author captures the 19th century tone well, and the final third finally gripped me and delivered the depth I had been waiting for.

Not the gripping read I hoped for overall, but still engaging and atmospheric enough to keep me turning the pages.

“What if we didn’t have to use ether or chloroform for routine surgery?...Although general anesthesia allowed for surgery without pain, it was risky and too operator dependent.” Dr. William Steward Halsted’s contention was that “the rewards of true local anesthesia were limitless.”

“A New Local Anaesthetic…hydrochlorate of cocaine…the newly discovered fact that the parts supplied by a sensory nerve may be made insensitive by an injection of cocaine in the immediate neighborhood of the trunk of that nerve…That discovery is well established by the experiments performed by Dr. Halsted…”.

-The New York Medical Journal…December 6, 1884

Halsted was an extraordinary surgeon, a pioneer whose methods were meant to control “hemorrhage, infection, and pain.” He repaired hernias, drained abscesses. Halsted, however, would “ease his sinus congestion with a little cocaine. Cocaine was supposed to be used …for surgery. On patients. Halsted started to recognize that cocaine had a negative aspect. “I don’t understand its mechanism. It deadens sensation where it is injected but it heightens every other sense”.

“It was ridiculous to think morphine could cure cocaine hunger, just as it was foolish to tout cocaine as a cure for morphiomania…it seems that weaned from and cured of are not the same thing.” Halsted oscillated between cocaine and morphine sickness. “He couldn’t dwell on the thriving career he once had in New York, the future that had slipped through his hands. He would now concentrate on experimental surgery in Baltimore. A bequest left by Johns Hopkins had led to the establishment of a university and hospital. A separate pathological building had an autopsy theater. Laboratories were on the lower level. Halsted was appointed surgeon to the hospital and dispensary, although definitely qualified, there was always the risk he would relapse.

Caroline Hampton was born in Columbus, South Carolina. In rapid succession, her mother died in childbirth and her military father died in the Civil War. Her uncle was Confederate General Wade Hampton. “We were far from being the only fatherless children of our generation…” raised by three surviving aunties. It was expected that she would marry well and maintain the life of a Southern belle. She had cared for an uncle when he was dying. “This was why God had made me. My purpose. Not marriage. Not children….Nursing suited me…but nursing was not an acceptable path for a lady.” With Uncle Wade's permission, she enrolled in the New York Hospital Nursing College. Upon graduation, although she was offered a position in New York, she applied for the position of head nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. “...my heart is too southern to make my home so far north. Baltimore would suit me better.”

Halsted first encountered Caroline when she was taking a self tour of the Johns Hopkins facility. He noticed her dark hair with curls popping out of her bonnet. She told Halsted that she was interviewing for the role of head nurse. “I preferred the excitement of the surgical ward, even though the patient mortality was high. It was nevertheless heroic in the attempt to cure.”

Halsted was “the fussiest man God ever placed on the earth. He expected meticulous care of his patients before and after surgery…He was particularly attentive to surgical dressings…I had full charge of the surgical wards…I never tired of watching him…watching those hands mesmerized me.” He was responsible for many groundbreaking techniques. Halsted insisted upon compulsive cleanliness…long soaks and repeated dipping of hands and instruments in disinfectant. The cumulative effect of the dips, especially the mercuric chloride, made Caroline’s hands raw, bleed and prone to infection. In a tender gesture, Halsted commissioned Goodyear to make a pair of long gloves made of rubber. The gloves, a secure fit, allowed for efficiency in handling surgical instruments. As more doctors and nurses started to use them, the infection rate from procedures diminished.

Halsted and Caroline would eventually marry. Her challenge was to provide her troubled husband with encouragement and emotional support as he tried to curb his drug dependency. He was a brilliant innovator hampered by his demons. Addiction had its cost for Caroline as well. Her dreams for the future were left in the dust.

Author Susan Coventry has written a meticulously researched tome highlighting the toll of drug dependency as voiced in dual narrative form. A highly recommended read of historical fiction.

Thank you Regal House Publishing and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for the advanced copy of this book!
The story is about groundbreaking discoveries of anesthesia in the 1880s.
I liked how there were articles from medical journals and letters at the beginning of every chapter. That made the writing very interesting. The parts about the cocaine addiction was intriguing and kept me wanting to read more of it, but that was the only thing that actually interested me in the whole book. I do not think I was the right reader for this book because the main story is about the discoveries of anesthesia and I cared more about the cocaine addiction plot.

This was a fascinating concept, it uses the chloroform anesthesia discovery perfectly in this universe and had that element that I was hoping for from a historical fiction. The characters were so well written and was everything that I was wanting in this universe. Susan Coventry was able to weave this book and enjoyed how good this was written.

Well, I was bored.

The characters didn't feel personal, I didn't care about them. The main characters had my attention like some quite uninteresting side ones.

The historical idea seemed interesting, but again, I wasn't involved with the events and stoped caring about the experiment as soon as the book started.

There was a lot of professional terms that made it even harder to read. No atmosphere vibing around either. Everything was dry, scientific in a bad way, and boring.

Clever and very interesting. I loved to learn more about the subject and the man behind it. I bet the research was very thourough, it seemed like that!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

this book is a biography of sorts that focuses on a surgeon who experiments with cocaine to be used as local anesthesia, until things got out of hand and he starts becoming addicted to cocaine. it explores the character's addiction to the drug and the difficulties he had to bear along with his loved ones. i really enjoyed reading about william's and caroline's resilience with his addiction as it was a very difficult thing to deal with at the time. it was also lots of fun reading about the surgeons in the hospital performing surgeries and all the insightful information regarding what they were doing with a certain patient. the epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter were also a fun addition and really made you feel like you were living in the story.

Highly interesting and emotional novel as well! I enjoyed the writing with original quotes from articles or letters at the beginning of each chapter. It reminds the reader how real it all was! I found it fascinating to read about how surgery progressed through exceptional hands. Brilliant minds and fingers were at work, friends as well... The novel clearly shows how drug addiction was extremely difficult to heal at the time particularly. Indeed what started as experimentation led to more knowledge than one might have wanted to have and feel... I was impressed by all these medical people (not only William) who furthered the art of surgery . I really enjoyed this biographical novel!
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.

What a clever title and reportage style of doctors days works so well in conveying the academic nature of the novel. A hit