Before 1832 dissection was a feared and hated punishment for murder. The 1832 Anatomy Act requisitioned instead the corpses of the poor, transferring the penalty from murder to poverty. The Anatomy Act contributed to the terrible fear of the Victorian workhouse and influences attitudes towards death even today. This is an unputdownable analysis which draws on many disciplines to explore the fundamental issues of folklore and science, life and death and the political struggles surrounding ownership of the body in the 19th century. 'This is a heartfelt dilemma whose history is movingly explored...Passionate, powerful and elegant.' - Roy Porter, "Guardian".
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Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
Until 1832 dissection-much hated and much feared-was restricted to the corpses of hanged murderers. Bodysnatching was rife. The 1832 Anatomy Act, however, appropriated instead the corpses of the poor, effectively rendering dissection a punishment for poverty. Death, Dissection and the Destitute reveals why fear of the pauper funeral so afflicted the nineteenth-century poor. Ruth Richardson's book opens rich prospects in history and the history of science. Her new afterword draws important parallels between historical and current concerns about the body, organs for transplant, and human tissue for research.
--This text refers to an alternate
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About the Author
Dr Ruth Richardson was born and grew up in Notting Hill, London. She was educated at Holland Park School, the City Literary Institute, and the University of Sussex. After leaving school she worked as a librarian in various specialist libraries and studied art and literature at evening classes. As a mature student at university she came upon the Anatomy Act while studying Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. This book is the result of a decade of further research. Ruth Richardson now works for the Institute of Historical Research, London.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must buy,
By A Customer
This review is from: Death, Dissection and the Destitute (Paperback)
This has been one of the best books I have read in grad school. Basically, it deals with the creation of the British Anatomy Act and with the criminalization of poverty. However, it's also got great info about grave robbing, murder for body-procurement, burial practices, and corpse decomposition - and it's extremely readable. Richardson explains that she began this book while reading Shelley's Frankenstein and with questions she had about the meanings of dissection and the body. This book is not about Frankenstein, but it's a must-read if you are to truly understand the society that Frankenstein was created for. It's also a must-read if you are at all interested in anatomy, poverty, or social policy dealing with anatomy and poverty.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Totally diggable,
By Mr Parallel (Chicago) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Death, Dissection and the Destitute (Paperback)
This is a wonderful book: smart, packed with astonishing information, beautifully written and--although it's about "the Body"--100% free of po-mo blather. They don't write 'em like this anymore, which is a damned pity.
5 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
10000,
By A Customer
This review is from: Death, Dissection and the Destitute (Hardcover)
I'd like say that this book is ver intrested for me, because I write my book about tha modern anatomy, medicine and politics.
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Without a broad understanding of its cultural context, the social meaning and importance of the 1832 Anatomy Act cannot fully be grasped. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
trading assassins, own body for dissection, burial clause, workhouse dead, anatomy debate, dissection material, workhouse records, patent coffin, financially fortunate, anatomy schools, anatomy question, obtaining bodies, parish burial, cholera hospital, workhouse inmates, pauper funeral, parochial authorities, death customs, dissection room, funeral wake, forthcoming biography, presumed consent Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Anatomy Act, Select Committee, Sir Astley, Royal College of Surgeons, Bransby Cooper, Cobbett's Weekly Political Register, Home Secretary, John Hunter, True Sun, Home Office, York Chronicle, William Hunter, Reform Bill, Inspector of Anatomy, Reform Act, Henry Warburton, University College, National Political Union, Southwood Smith, Study Lab, Crombie Mss, Henry Hunt, London Burkers, Thomas Wakley, Edinburgh Evening Courant New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Without a broad understanding of its cultural context, the social meaning and importance of the 1832 Anatomy Act cannot fully be grasped. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
trading assassins, own body for dissection, burial clause, workhouse dead, anatomy debate, dissection material, workhouse records, patent coffin, financially fortunate, anatomy schools, anatomy question, obtaining bodies, parish burial, cholera hospital, workhouse inmates, pauper funeral, parochial authorities, death customs, dissection room, funeral wake, forthcoming biography, presumed consent Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Anatomy Act, Select Committee, Sir Astley, Royal College of Surgeons, Bransby Cooper, Cobbett's Weekly Political Register, Home Secretary, John Hunter, True Sun, Home Office, York Chronicle, William Hunter, Reform Bill, Inspector of Anatomy, Reform Act, Henry Warburton, University College, National Political Union, Southwood Smith, Study Lab, Crombie Mss, Henry Hunt, London Burkers, Thomas Wakley, Edinburgh Evening Courant New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
100
books
cite this book:
See all 100 books citing this book
- The Italian Boy: A Tale of Murder and Body Snatching in 1830s London by Sarah Wise on 6 pages
- Death, Grief and Poverty in Britain, 1870-1914 (Cambridge Social and Cultural Histories) by Julie-Marie Strange on 6 pages
- When We Die: The Science, Culture, and Rituals of Death by Prof. Cedric Mims on 4 pages
- à qui appartient le corps humain ? medecine, politique et droit by Claire;Gaille-Nikodimov, Marie" "Crignon-De Oliveira on 4 pages
- Patients, Power and the Poor in Eighteenth-Century Bristol (Cambridge Studies in the History of Medicine) by Mary E. Fissell in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
See all 100 books citing this book
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