Death, Dissection and the Destitute: The Politics of the Corpse in Pre-Victorian Britain - Tapa blanda

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. 'A heartfelt dilemma whose history is movingly explored....Passionate, powerful and elegant' Roy Porter, Guardian

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.