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Bodysnatchers: A History of the Resurrectionists , 1742-1832
Excellent Book
- GenresHistoryTrue Crime
200 pages, Hardcover
First published August 18, 1988
48 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 11, 2023
This was a decent account of the history of bodysnatching in the United Kingdom. This book covered the beginnings and highpoints of bodysnatching in England and Scotland. Martin Fido wrote this from the accounts of individuals, gangs, and the elaborate network of bodysnatching from 1740 to 1832.
The men and women who operated under the cover of darkness were called resurrectionists. It was more than simply sneaking into a cemetery or morgue to dig up or snatch a body—it was an highly detailed operation. There was reconnaissance by attending random funerals, testing soils in cemeteries, scoping out hospitals for expectants, bribing graveyard groundskeepers, paying off police patrolmen. Then there was pulling of a job in a timely manner, efficiently, and having inconspicuous transportation. These bodies were paid for by medical universities, anatomy professors, and surgeons that used these bodies for dissection and advancement in science and medicine. This unique history even had episodes of murder for higher payment due to a "fresher specimen."
This was a decent overall review of bodysnatching written by a true crime writer. However I learned more from The Body Snatchers: Doctors, Grave Robbers, and the Law by medical doctor James Moores Ball, M.D., LL.D. I would highly recommend this second book because it was more detailed and highly informative. Thanks!
The men and women who operated under the cover of darkness were called resurrectionists. It was more than simply sneaking into a cemetery or morgue to dig up or snatch a body—it was an highly detailed operation. There was reconnaissance by attending random funerals, testing soils in cemeteries, scoping out hospitals for expectants, bribing graveyard groundskeepers, paying off police patrolmen. Then there was pulling of a job in a timely manner, efficiently, and having inconspicuous transportation. These bodies were paid for by medical universities, anatomy professors, and surgeons that used these bodies for dissection and advancement in science and medicine. This unique history even had episodes of murder for higher payment due to a "fresher specimen."
This was a decent overall review of bodysnatching written by a true crime writer. However I learned more from The Body Snatchers: Doctors, Grave Robbers, and the Law by medical doctor James Moores Ball, M.D., LL.D. I would highly recommend this second book because it was more detailed and highly informative. Thanks!
Displaying 1 of 1 review