Product Description

'My Lord, You are aware that, at this moment, the public feeling is strongly excited against the perpetrators of the late foul and cold blooded murders that have taken place in the very centre of a populous and civilised city ...Your Lordship is aware, that in all civilized nations, blood calls for blood ...' From ' Letter to the Lord Advocate ...By The Echo of Surgeons' Square'. Early nineteenth century Edinburgh was gripped by fear of body snatchers. New graves were constantly under threat from unscrupulous ghouls keen to profit from the medical school's voracious appetite for corpses. In 1828, Burke and Hare, a pair of opportunistic low-lives, took the practice to a new extreme. They murdered at least 16 innocent victims, including a 12-year-old boy, in the name of medical science - and the freshness of the corpses they delivered for dissection earned them extra money. The names of Burke and Hare have become synonymous with body-snatching, but the true details of their crimes have been obscured by mythology and questions still surround the case. In Enlightenment Edinburgh, how were Burke and Hare able to carry on their repulsive and murderous trade undetected for so long? Why was only one of the homicidal due brought to justice? And what were the roles of Burke and Hare's common-law wives, the medical students who took delivery of the corpses and Dr Robert Knox, the distinguished teacher of anatomy whose dissecting table was the final resting place of the unfortunate victims? Bailey reveals a sordid side to a society which was famed for its intellectual and progressive thinking, yet depended on predatory criminals for the advance of medical knowledge. In this compulsive and absorbing book, the evidence is thoroughly re-examined - and startling conclusions are reached.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #307984 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

About the Author
Brian Bailey is a well established professional author and has written more than 20 non-fiction books on subjects as diverse as true crime, history and biography. He lives in Devon.

Customer Reviews

An excellent companion
May I congratulate Mr Bailey on a superb examination of two fascinating characters and all of their macabre associations. The book is well written and lays out the facts in a very ordered fashion which allows you to get the quagmire of facts surrounding this case straight in your mind. A little eager in places to impress his findings upon you, contesting past sources, you sense the enthusiasm of someone who really feels they've taken history another step. He also raises some very astute (though in hindsight blindingly obvious) questions, for example - how could their first victim have possibly owed £4? However, these examinations of details are more of interest if you are not reading the story of Burke and Hare for the first time, in which case I would recommend Roughead's thorough edition. Then read Bailey, and watch them argue. :0)

A CHILLING ACCOUNT OF THE EVIL DUO
This is a fascinating and chilling account of two of the most infamous and evil criminals in history.

Covered in this eye opening book are the start of their murderous careers, from the first victim to the last,how their victims met their end,and the impact the murders had on the public.

Covered in detail is the way in which they were uncovered and what happened during their trail.this is an interesting and eye opening account of the life and crimes of the most notorious bodysnatchers in history, who unknowingly contributed massively to our knowledge of anatomy.

a very good book.