Bodysnatchers: Digging Up the Untold Stories of Britain’s Resurrection Men

Description

In this chilling history of the bodysnatching trade, the stories of Britain's lesser known Resurrection Men are told. Here are the stories of the men who robbed graves during the winter months of 1742 - 1832, selling fresh cadavers to anatomists up and down the country all in aid of medical advancement. The murders of Burke and Hare often dominate the macabre tales of bodysnatching, but the stories of Henry Gillies, William Patrick and Joseph Grainger are all just as gruesome. Stories involving medical students and anatomists are retold as we discover the cases that have become hidden in history. Anatomy schools, short of fresh cadavers for dissection would pay high prices for corpses, asking no questions about their origins. This resulted in the criminal underworld of the Sack em up Men or bodysnatchers, which spread fear and horror throughout the United Kingdom. It s time to discover these lesser known stories about Britain s often forgotten history. REVIEWS Thanks to these shadowy characters, medical students were never short of a cadaver to dissect and handsomely for the wares that the likes of Henry Gillies provided. With no questions asked, the bodysnatchers soon became figures of fear, moving by night and showing little respect to the British dead. Although the book isn't short on gruesome stories and stomach churning moments, its strength undoubtedly lies in the way Lennox considers the wider impactions of the bodysnatcher's trade and how their immoral work allowed for continuing medical research and study. She skilfully weaves a tapestry of criminal and surgical connections, teasing out the names that history has forgotten and placing them in a richly written social narrative. Lennox handles this very specialist subject with an authoritative air and hugely entertaining, evocative style. It is to her credit that she resists the temptation to stray into sensationalism, even when the material virtually invites it. She brings the Georgian underworld vividly back to life and in doing so, rightly resurrects some colorful characters that might otherwise never have seen the light of day again. All About History, September 2016 This is a very professionally written book by an author who self-evidently knows her stuff. There's a fairly detailed bibliography, sources used, and a brief list of record repositories, all rounded off with an index. All in all, this is a gruesome subject, but an important one insofar. Ripperologist"