- 352 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Burke & Hare
About this book
The shocking true story of 19th century Scotland's most famous serial killers is "gruesome and funny and sometimes both together" (
The Observer, UK).
In a boarding house just off Edinburgh's West Port, an old army pensioner dies of natural causes. He owes the landlord rent. Instead of burying the body, the landlord, William Hare, and his friend, William Burke, fill the coffin with bark and sell the corpse to Dr. Robert Knox, an ambitious Edinburgh anatomist. It's a nice profit for not a lot of work. After this encouraging outcome, Burke and Hare decide to suffocate another sickly tenant.
So begins the criminal career of the most notorious double act in serial killing. Here is the unvarnished, human story behind the infamous Burke and Hare murders. We delve into their past, their personalities and the circumstances that made them resort to murder as a money-making scheme. It's a tale of desperation and greed, of outsiders, ambition, corruption and betrayal.
In a boarding house just off Edinburgh's West Port, an old army pensioner dies of natural causes. He owes the landlord rent. Instead of burying the body, the landlord, William Hare, and his friend, William Burke, fill the coffin with bark and sell the corpse to Dr. Robert Knox, an ambitious Edinburgh anatomist. It's a nice profit for not a lot of work. After this encouraging outcome, Burke and Hare decide to suffocate another sickly tenant.
So begins the criminal career of the most notorious double act in serial killing. Here is the unvarnished, human story behind the infamous Burke and Hare murders. We delve into their past, their personalities and the circumstances that made them resort to murder as a money-making scheme. It's a tale of desperation and greed, of outsiders, ambition, corruption and betrayal.
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Burke & Hare by Owen Dudley Edwards,Owen Dudley-Edwards in PDF and/or ePUB format. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
eBook ISBN
9780857907530Subtopic
Scottish HistoryTable of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication Page
- Contents
- Biographical Note
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chronology
- 1. The Irishness of William Burke
- 2. Burke and the Napoleonic Wars
- 3. The Identity of William Hare
- 4. Burke, Hare and the Industrial Revolution
- 5. Burke, Hare and Sex
- 6. Burke, Hare and Immigrant Enterprise
- 7. Burke, Hare and the Scottish Enlightenment
- 8. The King and William Burke
- 9. William Hare and the King
- 10. The Damnation of William Burke
- 11. Burke, Hare and Public Opinion: an Epilogue
- A Note on Sources
- Index