Jean Devèze

Jean Devèze was a French physician and surgeon who arrived in Philadelphia from Cap-Français during the upheaval in Saint-Domingue. Appointed principal physician at Bush Hill hospital during the 1793 yellow fever epidemic, he rejected the most aggressive bleeding and purging regimens and favoured rest, cleanliness, fluids and close observation. He published an account of the epidemic in 1794.

Devèze directly treats Mattie in Fever 1793. His calm, supportive practice provides a historical alternative to the heroic medicine associated with Benjamin Rush and gives the novel’s hospital chapters their clearest documented medical figure.