This study reveals the horrifying fate of dead criminals in the nineteenth century whose bodies were sentenced to dissection as an expression of society's revulsion at their crimes, the consequences of which sometimes led to bodysnatching and the selling of victims' bodies to anatomists.

Death, Dissection and the Destitute

Politics & Social Sciences

Richardson, Ruth

Social Sciences

Penguin??Books

When Gray's Anatomy appeared in 1858, contemporaries immediately recognized that it was a departure from anything that had come before. Sales were brisk, and the book rapidly became not just a bestseller, but the standard work. Created by two young men in only two years in the mid-nineteenth century, Gray's Anatomy is the only textbook of human anatomy continuously in print for the last 150 years. Commemorating this remarkable anniversary, The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy tells the fascinating story of the origin of this groundbreaking book. Providing a wealth of historical context, Dr. Ruth Richardson examines both the mid-Victorian medical world in which Henry Gray and the brilliant illustrator Henry Vandyke Carter operated and the vigorous publishing industry in London at that time. Along the way, Richardson explores the scientific and cultural life of the medical school dissecting room and dead house, as well as the lives of those whose corpses ended up on the slab. The very different personalities and life-stories of Gray and Carter emerge in the telling, as do those of their publishers, and the many other individuals who were involved in the making of the book itself. Indeed, The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy investigates the entire production process--from the book's conception in 1855 to its reception by the medical press in 1858--via typesetters, wood-engravers, steam printers, paper and printing-ink suppliers, paper-folders, stitchers and bookbinders. Here we encounter individuals motivated by money, vanity, altruism, scientific discovery, professional pride, and the quest for faith and fame. Vividly written and painstakingly researched, The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy illuminates a vibrant human document, one that has guided medical students for a century and a half.

The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy: Bodies, Books, Fortune, Fame

Science & Math

History & Philosophy

Oxford University Press

When Gray's Anatomy appeared in 1858, the book rapidly became not just a bestseller, but the standard work. Indeed, Gray's Anatomy is the only textbook of human anatomy continuously in print for the last 150 years. The Making of Gray's Anatomy tells the fascinating story of this remarkable book. Providing a wealth of historical context, Ruth Richardson examines both the mid-Victorian medical world in which Henry Gray and the brilliant illustrator Henry Vandyke Carter operated and the vigorous publishing industry in London at that time. Along the way, Richardson explores the scientific and cultural life of the medical school dissecting room and dead house, as well as the lives of those whose corpses ended up on the slab. The very different personalities and life-stories of Gray and Carter emerge in the telling, as do those of their publishers, and the many other individuals who were involved in the making of the book itself. Indeed, The Making of Gray's Anatomy investigates the entire production process--from the book's conception in 1855 to its reception by the medical press in 1858--via typesetters, wood-engravers, steam printers, paper and printing-ink suppliers, paper-folders, stitchers and bookbinders.

The Making of Mr Gray's Anatomy: Bodies, books, fortune, fame

Biographies & Memoirs

Dickens and the Workhouse: Oliver Twist and the London Poor

It's one of the best known scenes in all of literature--young Oliver Twist, with empty bowl in hand, asking "Please Sir. I want some more." In Dickens and the Workhouse, historian Ruth Richardson recounts how she discovered the building that was quite possibly the model for the workhouse in Dickens' classic novel. Indeed, Richardson reveals that Dickens himself lived only a few doors down from this notorious building--once as a child and once again as a young journalist. This book offers a colorful portrait of London in Dickens' time, looking at life in the streets and in the workhouse itself. Illustrated with maps, documents, photos, and illustrations, this fascinating book provides an engaging blend of history, biography and literary criticism, rooted in hitherto largely unexplored historical sources, in Dickens' own fiction and journalism, and in works of biography and criticism. Richardson's discovery made headlines worldwide. Published on the 200th anniversary of Dickens' birth, Dickens and the Workhouse offers an intriguing glimpse of one of the great literary figures of the Victorian Age.

Literature & Fiction

British & Irish

The recent discovery that, as a young man, Charles Dickens lived only a few doors from a major London workhouse made headlines worldwide. This book, by the historian who did the sleuthing behind this exciting discovery, presents the story for the first time, and shows that the two periods during which Dickens lived in that part of London were profoundly important to his subsequent writing career.

Arts & Literature

In the early nineteenth century, body snatching was rife because the only corpses available for medical study were those of hanged murderers. With the Anatomy Act of 1832, however, the bodies of those who died destitute in workhouses were appropriated for dissection. At a time when such a procedure was regarded with fear and revulsion, the Anatomy Act effectively rendered dissection a punishment for poverty. Providing both historical and contemporary insights, Death, Dissection, and the Destitute opens rich new prospects in history and history of science. The new afterword draws important parallels between social and medical history and contemporary concerns regarding organs for transplant and human tissue for research.

University of Chicago Press

In the early nineteenth century, body snatching was rife because the only corpses available for medical study were those of hanged murderers. With the Anatomy Act of 1832, however, the bodies of those who died destitute in workhouses were appropriated for dissection. At a time when such a procedure was regarded with fear and revulsion, the Anatomy Act effectively rendered dissection a punishment for poverty. Providing both historical and contemporary insights, Death, Dissection, and the Destitute opens rich new prospects in history and history of science. The new afterword draws important parallels between social and medical history and contemporary concerns regarding organs for transplant and human tissue for research.

A richly fascinating compendium of everything you wanted to know about funeral customs, grave-robbery and the dissecting table in the 19th century.

Routledge& Kegan Paul

Making a difference

Shoal Bay Press

The Ultimate CalmDo Air Fryer Toaster Oven Cookbook: 600 Delicious, Crispy & Easy-to-Prepare Air Fryer Toaster Oven Recipes for Fast & Healthy Meals

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Outdoor Cooking

Ruth Richardson

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Richardson, Ruth. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Richardson, Ruth

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Richardson, Ruth. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Death, Dissection and the Destitute

The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy: Bodies, Books, Fortune, Fame

The Making of Mr Gray's Anatomy: Bodies, books, fortune, fame

Dickens and the Workhouse: Oliver Twist and the London Poor

Dickens and the Workhouse: Oliver Twist and the London Poor

Death, Dissection and the Destitute

Death, Dissection and the Destitute

Death, Dissection and the Destitute

Making a difference

The Ultimate CalmDo Air Fryer Toaster Oven Cookbook: 600 Delicious, Crispy & Easy-to-Prepare Air Fryer Toaster Oven Recipes for Fast & Healthy Meals