As the 19th-century medical profession became increasingly regulated, medical schools tried to leave behind the stereotype of the dissolute, drunken student messing about in the dissecting room. But the image refused to die, and stories abounded of students duelling with severed limbs, tormenting the public with pranks and stumbling down the steps of the Cider Cellars. The more conscientious among them tried to defend their reputation, while navigating the isolation and temptations of the city, their teachers’ ‘decidedly improper’ jokes and the gruelling daily schedule of hospital visits, lectures and reading.

In this talk, Caroline Rance explores the highs and gruesome lows of student life at the London hospitals during this era of transformation. Hear about the cadaver that creaked its way upright, the student who clobbered his examiner, and the anatomy tutor whose corpses proved a nuisance to the neighbours. Using the diaries and memoirs of Victorian doctors, Caroline will show what students had to learn, how they spent their time, and how they faced up to the daunting prospect of a life-and-death career.