The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox [Unabridged] [Audible Audio Edition] Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B008563RFG | Format: PDF, EPUB
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The Speckled Monster is both a hair-raising tale of courage in the face of the deadliest disease that has ever struck mankind, and a gripping account of the birth of modern immunology. Jennifer Lee Carrell's dramatic story follows two parents who, after barely surviving the agony of smallpox themselves, flouted 18th century European medical tradition by borrowing folk knowledge from African slaves and Eastern women in frantic bids to protect their children. Their heroic struggles gave rise to immunology, as well as the vaccinations that remain our only hope should the disease be unleashed again. Carrell transports readers back to the early 18th century to tell the tales of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Dr. Zabdiel Boylston: two iconoclastic figures who helped save London and Boston from this scourge.
Direct download links available for The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 19 hours and 43 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Random House Audio
- Audible.com Release Date: May 22, 2012
- Language: English
- ASIN: B008563RFG
Overall, this book is rather interesting. However, there are some aspects of the book that I think are poor and I am surprised that others failed to mention them.
First, we'll start off with the negetive aspects. First and foremost, the book dips in and out from intimate nearness to the characters to cold, infomational-type explaining. I generally feel little toward the characters and am impatient with the inconsistancy. Carrell seems to have trouble with balancing fascinating, animated narrating and dry narration.
Also, her organization is lacking. The weaving of story and information of the era etc proves clumsy and rough. Though never really confusing, it is often inconvenient to the reader. I enjoy the historical, informational parts, I simply wish they were better integrated into the overall story.
The last negetive aspect is her akward grammer. I noticed an alarming amount of improper or incorrect sentences. It doesn't harm in the way of conveying the message, but it often stumbles the reader and forces them to re-read and ponder over the mistakes.
On to the positive aspects. This book is quite fascinating, to put it bluntly. I have read many medical novels or accounts on smallpox, but this is the first historical novel I have been lucky enough to read. It is rife with historical information (obviously), such as the royalty at the time, who died of smallpox that is of importance to the story, conditions at that time, fasion, etc. I am pleased at her attempt to relay the infomation in an interesting, colorful way by making it into a tale instead of a simply narration. It is also unique in that it presents two different individuals' history of smallpox.
Not only is it interesting, but hey, it provides photos.
Carrel's historical fictional novel brings to life Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Dr. Zabdiel Boyleston's efforts to bring inoculation into the medical practice of the western world. I am amazed at how she was able to use letters, diaries, newspapers, and other primary documents to reconstruct what happened. By bringing out the characters as humans, she reminds us that they are not just figures in a history book, but takes us through their emotions and social interactions. Looking back on historical achievements, it may be easy to forget that progress can often be an uphill battle that is met with a lot of resistance.
For example, Carrel brings out the courage that these characters had in facing the strong, and often violent, opposition to inoculation. However, they continued to promote inoculation because of their dedication to fighting smallpox, stemmed from having suffered it themselves and having lost loved ones to the disease. After one of his patients dies from inoculation, Boyleston is described to have a personal moral conflict regarding his culpability in the patient's death. Yet, in just a reading from a history textbook, the reader would not be aware of the characters' personal motivations and emotional trials. Thus, reading this book makes the achievements and contributions of Mary and Boylseton all the more appreciated.
For those skeptics who wonder how much is true and how much is fiction, Carrel provides a detailed delineation in the "notes" appendage. I myself started reading the book wondering, "How does she know all this stuff?". The answer is that she probably is making it up, but writing what probably happened based on primary sources.
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