Memoirs of John Abernethy With a View of His Lectures, His Writings, and Character; with Additional Extracts from Original Documents, Now First Published

"Memoirs of John Abernethy" by George Macilwain is a biography that looks at the life and work of the well-known surgeon John Abernethy. The book explores Abernethy’s impact on the medical field, especially looking at his surgical methods and ideas, along with his effect on other surgeons and students. The story begins with the writer sharing his original negative feelings about medicine, which then changed completely after he went to one of Abernethy’s lectures at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. This change of heart shows how powerful Abernethy was in shaping the medical world and inspiring future doctors; the writer's background and schooling give more context to his connection with Abernethy. In the introduction, Macilwain talks about how hard it was to write the book and his goal of protecting Abernethy’s reputation from false information and misunderstandings about his work.