The Body-Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson - Short Ghost Stories.     The Body Snatcher (1884) is a short story by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. First published in the Pall Mall Christmas "Extra", in December 1884, the story is based on characters in the employ of Robert Knox, around the time of the Burke and Hare murders.      The story begins with a group of friends sharing a few drinks, when an eminent doctor, Wolfe MacFarlane, enters. One of the friends, Fettes, recognizes the name and angrily confronts the new arrival. Although his friends all find this behaviour suspicious, none of them can understand what might lie behind it. It transpires that MacFarlane and Fettes had attended medical school together, under the famous professor of anatomy, Robert Knox. Their duties included taking receipt of bodies for dissection, and paying the pair of shifty and suspicious men who supplied them.     On one occasion, Fettes identifies a body as that of a woman he knew, and is convinced she has been murdered. But MacFarlane talks him out of reporting the incident, lest they are both implicated in the crime.     Later, Fettes meets MacFarlane at a tavern, along with a man named Gray, who treats MacFarlane in a rude manner. The following night, MacFarlane brings Gray's body along as a dissection sample. Although Fettes is now certain that his friend has committed murder, MacFarlane again convinces him to keep his silence, persuading him that if he is not courageous enough to perform such manly deeds as these, he will end up as just another victim. The two men make sure the body is comprehensively dissected, destroying any forensic evidence.      Fettes and MacFarlane continue their work, without being implicated in any crime. However, when a shortage of bodies leaves their mentor in need, they are sent to a country churchyard to exhume a recently buried woman. As they are driving back with the body seated between them, they begin to feel nervous and stop to take a better look. They are shocked to discover that the body between them is that of Gray, which they thought they had destroyed.

The Body Snatcher and Other Stories

Literature & Fiction

Stevenson, R.L.

Classics

PHOENIX PAPERBACK

With the heart of a sailor and the narrative skill of a novelist, Dallas Murphy explores the enduring allure of the mythic Cape Horn. Located at the southernmost tip of the Andes, Cape Horn is a place where the storms are bigger, the winds stronger, the geography more dangerous for a seafarer than anywhere else in the world. From when it was named in 1616 until the present day, Cape Horn has had a rich history filled not only with the horrors of sailing disasters but also with the pleasures of Darwinian research into flora and fauna. The author uses his own voyage around Cape Horn to weave together the history of explorations, along with tales of Indians who lived there, the oceanography and meteorology of the region (with echoes of The Perfect Storm), the science of navigation and the natural history of the area. The result is the story of a sailor testing his own limits as well as a truly captivating depiction of one of the most fascinating areas on earth.

Rounding the Horn

Murphy, Dallas

Clement Mansell knows how easy it is to get away with murder. The crazed killer is back on the Detroit streets - thanks to some nifty courtroom moves by his lawyer - and this time he's feeling invincible enough to execute a crooked Motown judge. Homicide Detective Raymond Cruz thinks the 'Oklahoma Wildman' crossed the line long before this latest outrage, and he's determined to see that the psycho does not slip through the legal system's loopholes a second time. But that means a good cop is going to have to play somewhat fast and loose with the rules - in order to manoeuvre Mansell into a showdown that he won't be walking away from.

City Primeval: Now a major TV miniseries

LEONARD, Elmore

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

<p>Was Churchill as a great a wartime leader as he has hitherto been made out? John Keegan discusses the view of the soldiers such as Alanbrooke, his wartime Chief of Staff, and considers Churchill the politician who surprisingly got it wrong so often, not least in the 1945 election. Keegan also writes vividly about Churchill's upbringing and his ambitious streak, which emerged early on and led him into the army and the Boer War. 'Keegan's enjoyable, challenging and intelligent contribution shows that Churchill's is a never-ending story...As well as being one of the country's greatest experts on the Second World War, Keegan is a superbly accessible writer...witty, opinionated, but above all authoritative' Andrew Roberts, Mail on Sunday</p>

Churchill : A Life

KEEGAN, JOHN.

Biographies & Memoirs

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Books by PHOENIX PAPERBACK

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

The Body Snatcher and Other Stories

Rounding the Horn

City Primeval: Now a major TV miniseries

Churchill : A Life