The Anatomist

October 8, 2007
At 150 years old, Gray's Anatomy
still sets the standard in medical textbooks, yet little has been written about its author, Henry Gray. Even less celebrated is Henry Carter, the illustrator who brought Gray's groundbreaking anatomy text to life. Hayes (Sleep Demons: An Insomniac's Memoir
) explores the lives of these two men, balancing biographical chapters with his own experience in the anatomy classroom, dissecting cadavers and marveling at each new discovery with prose both lucid and arrestingly beautiful: “Like a pomegranate, whose leathery rind belies its jewel box interior, the kidney is spectacular inside.” From Carter's diary entries, Hayes recreates an era when medical advances were rapidly changing the way people lived as well as challenging religious dogma, and people turned to science in hopes of reconciling the two. Hayes finds emotional resonance in Carter's longing for a job that would matter, as well as in his internal conflicts as a Protestant Dissenter and his fear of professing his despised beliefs in public. As Hayes relates his own growing wonder and respect for anatomy, one feels the echo of Carter and Gray's devotion as they worked to create what one historian called “an affordable, accurate teaching aid.” Hayes pays eloquent tribute to two masterpieces: the human body and the book detailing it.

December 1, 2007
Hunting for the Gray in Gray's Anatomy, Hayes discovered scant records about the author of the classic medical text. Hayes then turned to Gray's illustrator, Henry Vandyke Carter, whose middle name announced his mother's artistic ambitions for her son; more practically for Hayes? purpose, Carter kept a diary. In addition to using the diary, maintained during the creation of Anatomy, Hayes augments the story with the Plimptonian device of taking anatomy courses, just as Carter learned under Gray's tutelage in London. As Hayes progresses through his dissections, he counterpoises Carter's depictions of the human body, generating a kind of personal interaction between himself and the illustrator. Besides anatomy, Hayes mulls Carter's ruminations about religion and ambition, revels in his successes in art and medicine, and figuratively follows him to India, where he became a noted authority on tropical diseases and husband to a woman with a past scandalous to Victorian sensibility. An inspired converser with the great opus, Hayes exudes enthusiasm and curiosity.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)