Nineteenth Century Grave Robbing
The Ghastly Business of Providing Corpses
Body snatching, especially in the 19th century, was most often for the purpose of selling the corpse for dissection or anatomy study. Before the Anatomy Act of 1832, the only cadavers legally available for anatomical purposes were from those condemned to death and dissection by the courts—which made for a limited supply. And that cracked the door wide open for a new business opportunity.
Grave Robbers.
Men who dug up bodies by the dark of night to supply the demand for corpses were known as resurrectionists or resurrection men. They (and those who used the illicit bodies) faced a misdemeanor for interfering with a grave, which was punishable with a fine and imprisonment.
In my newest release, Lost in Darkness, surgeon Uriah Peckwood faces just such a charge if hero Graham Lambert decides to make it public. Why in the world did he have the cadaver to begin with? Well, well, you’ll just have to read the story to find out, methinks. Here’s a blurb:
Travel writer Amelia Balfour’s dream of touring Egypt is halted when she receives news of a revolutionary new surgery for her grotesquely disfigured brother. This could change everything, and it does. . .in the worst possible way.
Surgeon Graham Lambert has suspicions about the doctor he’s gone into practice with, but he can’t stop him from operating on Amelia’s brother. Will he be too late to prevent the man’s death? Or to reveal his true feelings for Amelia before she sails to Cairo?
Sound interesting? You can purchase your very own copy HERE or if you’re feeling lucky, you can try your hand at the Rafflecopter giveaway.