THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

Best Books of the Year, Guardian

The gripping story of the visionary surgeon who rebuilt the faces of heroes injured in World War I, and in doing so, ushered in the modern era of plastic surgery.

From the moment the first machine gun echoed on the Western Front, it was clear that military technology had far surpassed human medical capabilities. The new weaponry of the war, from tanks to shrapnel, brought about slaughter on an industrial scale, and given the nature of trench warfare, thousands of soldiers suffered facial injuries. Medical advancements meant that more survived their wounds than ever before, yet disfigured soldiers did not receive the heroic welcome they deserved.

In The Facemaker, award-winning historian Lindsey Fitzharris tells the astonishing story of pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies, who dedicated his life to restoring the faces—and identities—of a generation shattered beyond all recognition. Gillies, Cambridge-educated, discovered the emerging field of plastic surgery after his experience with human wreckage at the front. Returning to Britain, he founded one of the world's first hospitals dedicated solely to facial reconstruction at Sidcup, in southeast England. There, Gillies assembled an eclectic team of doctors, nurses, and artists whose primary purpose was to recreate what had been lost.

In an era when losing a limb made a soldier a hero, but losing a face turned him into a monster in a society largely intolerant of disfigurement, Gillies restored not only the faces of the wounded but also their spirits.

With meticulous research and captivating storytelling, The Facemaker places Gillies' ingenious surgical innovations alongside the poignant stories of soldiers whose lives were shattered and repaired. The result is a vivid tale of how medicine and art can merge and what can be accomplished with courage and imagination in the face of unrelenting horror.

Pages: 336, Dimensions: 12.9x12.9cm