{"product_id":"butcher","title":"Butcher","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom one of our most accomplished storytellers, an extraordinary and arresting novel about a women’s asylum in the nineteenth century, and a terrifying doctor who wants to change the world. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this harrowing story based on authentic historical documents, we follow the career of Dr. Silas Weir, “Father of Gyno-Psychiatry,” as he ascends from professional anonymity to national renown.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHumiliated by a procedure gone terribly wrong, Weir is forced to take a position at the New Jersey Asylum for Female Lunatics, where he reigns. There, he is allowed to continue his practice, unchecked for decades, making a name for himself by focusing on women who have been neglected by the state—women he subjects to the most grotesque modes of experimentation. As he begins to establish himself as a pioneer of nineteenth-century surgery, Weir’s ambition is fueled by his obsessive fascination with a young Irish indentured servant named Brigit, who becomes not only Weir’s primary experimental subject, but also the agent of his destruction.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNarrated by Silas Weir’s eldest son, who has repudiated his father’s brutal legacy, \u003cem\u003eButcher\u003c\/em\u003e is a unique blend of fiction and fact, a nightmare voyage through the darkest regions of the American psyche conjoined, in its startling conclusion, with unexpected romance. Once again, Joyce Carol Oates has written a spellbinding novel confirming her position as one of our celebrated American visionaries of the imagination\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!----\u003e","brand":"Joyce Carol Oates","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45161669427457,"sku":"9780008694913","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/8600\/8738\/files\/SIMPLEWEBSITEPRODUCTIMAGE-2025-05-19T123057.445.png?v=1747654290","url":"https:\/\/rarebirdsbooks.live\/products\/butcher","provider":"Rare Birds Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}