Section 1. For those who have forgotten or never knew what smallpox was like. On the long struggle of man, before Jenner, to fight smallpox (1721-1798) -- section 2. The life and work of Jenner. The young Jenner (1749-1772) ; Jenner, naturalist and country surgeon (1772-1795) ; The myth becomes reality (1795-1798) ; Jenner's hard-won victory in England, his own country (1798-1823) ; The particular case of Napoleonic France (1798-1815) ; Vaccination spreads across Europe and the United States and then throughout the rest of the world (1798-1810) ; Honours and resentment for Jenner (1801-1823) -- section 3. The perfect ending to the story : the eradication of smallpox. Post-Jennerian vaccination (1823-1979) ; Smallpox vaccination : its value and its limitations (1798-1979) ; The anti-vaccination movements (1798-1979) ; The eradication of smallpox : Jenner's posthumous triumph (1959-1979) ; Jenner, vaccination and ethics (1796 to the present day) ; What should be done about the smallpox virus?