author
Frederick Treves
1853–1923
A brilliant Victorian surgeon, he became famous for advancing appendix surgery, caring for Joseph Merrick, and saving King Edward VII before his coronation. He also wrote vivid memoirs and travel books that brought his medical world to a wider audience.
3 Audiobooks
The Riviera of the Corniche Road
by Frederick Treves
The Tale of a Field Hospital
by Frederick Treves
The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences
by Frederick Treves
About the author
Born in Dorchester, England, in 1853, Frederick Treves trained in London and rose to become one of Britain's best-known surgeons. He built his reputation through work in anatomy and abdominal surgery, especially at a time when operations for appendicitis were still risky and far from routine.
Treves is often remembered for two dramatic parts of his career. One was his friendship with Joseph Merrick, later widely known as the "Elephant Man," whom he met at the London Hospital and wrote about with unusual sympathy. The other was the emergency operation that helped save King Edward VII in 1902, just before the coronation, an event that made Treves famous well beyond medical circles.
Alongside his surgical work, he was a successful writer. His books include memoir, travel writing, and reflections on medicine, and they helped preserve a first-hand picture of late Victorian and Edwardian hospital life. He died in 1923, leaving behind a reputation for skill, energy, and humane observation.