Suzie Grogan The Glamorous Life of a Surgeon Apothecary 1750-1850 

My guest today is fellow Pen & Sword author, Suzie Grogan. Suzie’s written three books now but it is her second book, Death, Disease and Dissection that we’re really focusing on in this episode. 

Join me as our chat turns to the world of medical history and the life of a surgeon-apothecary in the mid 18th and 19th Century. 

We don't forget the body snatching in this episode and look at it from a slightly different angle than usual. 

*Listener discretion is advised at the beginning of this episode 

1:12   Introduction & how a murder inspired Suzie’s first book ‘Shell-Shocked Britain’

5:07   The Structure of the medical profession

9:42   The varied work of a Surgeon - Apothecary: From rolling pills to lancing abscesses 

11:40  Inside the 19th century dissecting room 

14:07  John Keats as a Medical student

14:22  Druin Burch ‘Digging Up The Dead’ & accounts of 19th dissecting rooms 

15:12  The horrors of cross-contamination & germs in the dissecting room 

19:09  Digging deeper into the life of a 19th century medical student

19:36  Students providing cadavers for dissection & anatomists relationship with body snatchers     

23:16  I’m asked a surprise question on the total number of cadavers stolen

24:19  The value of the human body at the time of the Anatomy Act   

26:13  The fear of being dissected 

27:03  The glamorous life of the Surgeon - Apothecary 

29:37  Quack Doctors

30:48  We dive back into the subject of body snatching

33:41  Keats: His medical notebook & time as a medical student

39:18  The influence of medicine on Keates poetry

40:50  Suzie’s thoughts on body snatching & its importance in medical history

43:39  How to find more from my guest, Suzie Grogan 

Books & Resources Mentioned In This Episode Include:

Ruth Richardson ‘Death, Dissection & the Destitute’ 

Druin Burch ‘Digging Up The Dead’ 

E.S Thompson The Gem Flockheart Series (Vol 1: Beloved Poison) 

The British Newspaper Archive 

Suzie’s Book (In Order Of Publication) 

Shell Shocked Britain

Death, Disease & Dissection 

John Keats: Poetry, Life & Landscape 

You can Follow Suzie On Social Media 

Twitter

Facebook 

Website 

Want a mid-week fix of all things body snatching? Then head on over to my blog at diggingup1800.com

Twitter @Diggingup1800

Instagram @Diggingup1800

Facebook @Diggingup1800

In this episode, I’m joined by fellow body snatching enthusiast Chris Woodyard, author of the popular series Haunted Ohio as well as the fabulous ‘The Victorian Book of the Dead’.

We get down to the basics of body snatching and compare the practice between Britain and America and for us two, nothing is off limits!

From repurposing clothes from cadavers to the 'Coffin Torpedo' and everything in between!

All the gory details can be found at: 

2:37    How to take a body out of the grave

4:42    Digging up putrid cadavers & what to do with the grave clothes

8:09    Body snatchers and their side hustles 

9:00    Packing cadavers ready for shipping & a trunk murder  

17:33  Body snatching prevention, the ‘Coffin Torpedo’ & how to get a body out of the grave

28:46  The snatching of Senator John Scott Harrison 

34:18  Punishments for body snatching & the role of the anatomists

38:50  The anatomists & their relationship with body snatchers 

39:08  William Cunningham aka ‘Old Cunny’ & his ‘apprentice’ Charles Keaton

42:20  Anatomy Riots & Anatomy Acts

44:22 Chris’ favourite body snatchers including an American burking Case    

49:58 A final Body snatching legend to finish with 

Books Mentioned In This Episode

• Brian Bailey: The Diary of a Resurrectionist 
• Curt Dalton: Body Snatching in Ohio
• Ruth Richardson: Death, Dissection & The Destitute
• Michael Sappol:  A Traffic in Dead Bodies

If you’d like to read about Waterloo Teeth head over to my website for the post  Waterloo Teeth: A History of Georgian Dentures 

For more on the Liverpool Body Snatching Scandal of 1826, listen to Episode 2 of the podcast or head over to my blog where you can read the story in full and see the accompanying pictures. 

Want to follow Chris and find out what she’s up to? 

You can follow Chris on Twitter and Facebook 

Chris’ fantastic website Haunted Ohio Books will keep you hooked for hours!  

Chris is also the author of the Haunted Ohio Book Series and fabulous  ‘The VIctorian Book of The Dead’

Want a mid-week fix of all things body snatching? Then head on over to my blog at diggingup1800.com

Twitter @Diggingup1800
Instagram @Diggingup1800
Facebook @Diggingup1800

This episode is slightly different as I take a look at the story of a female body snatcher based just outside of Edinburgh.

Women didn't often get as involved in the body snatching trade, and so it's quite unusual to find a case where the woman has carried out such a prominent role.
 
Our story today takes us back to 1829 and to the parish of Lasswade in Midlothian, where  Helen Miller, a lady once married to a body snatcher, turned informant and started offering a helping hand to the body snatchers of Edinburgh.

Links: 

• Read more about the story of one of Edinburgh’s most famous body snatchers ‘Merry Andrew’ 
• Find out about mortstones as a form of body snatching prevention
• You can also see the story of Helen Miller on my website
• Discover more stories in Scottish Bodysnatchers: True Accounts by Norman Adams
• Go exploring with Geoff Holder’s Scottish Bodysnatchers: A Gazetteer

Want a mid-week fix of all things body snatching? Then head on over to my blog at diggingup1800.com

Twitter @Diggingup1800
Instagram @Diggingup1800
Facebook @Diggingup1800

In this episode I’m joined by Cat Irving, Human Remains Conservator at Surgeons’ Hall Museum in Edinburgh. 

We step into the world of the 19th-century anatomists and look at how the body snatcher would have delivered a cadaver to the back door of Surgeons’ Hall. 

We talk about the state of the cadaver after it had been packed into barrels and boxes and there’s also a little bit of dissection talk in there along with some basic anatomy to help set the scene.

All gruesome stuff, but not too gruesome I hope. 

01:41 - Introduction 

03:20 - Famous Surgeons at Edinburgh 

04:46 - Dissecting Season

06:30 - The Barber-Surgeons 

07:46 - Private Anatomy Schools 

09:26 - Old Surgeons’ Hall & body snatching

11:03 - The condition of cadavers on arrival

15:15 - The part where Cat explains decomposition    

20:40 - Storing Cadavers and using cadavers for dissection    

24:45 - The wonderful story of Martin Van Butchell

27:07 - Dissection and The Paris Manner

34.44 - Finally we get to Burke & Hare 

37:06 - Those bits of a cadavers anatomists wouldn’t be interested in

39:22 - What happened to cadavers after being anatomised

41:22 - Cat’s Blog These Wandering Bones

44:01 - Thanks & visiting Surgeons’ Hall Museum 

How To Find My Guest Cat Irving: 

Cat’s blog These Wandering Bones 

Twitter @AnatomicalCat

Facebook @CatIrving

The link to the image I mention where the cadaver is on the dissecting table holding an open book can be found on the website for the Wellcome Collection I mention in the episode that I thought the image was from Cambridge Anatomy School but in fact, the origin is unknown. 

You can find up to date visiting information on the Surgeon’s Hall Website if you’d like to go and see the pocket book covered in William Burke’s skin for yourself and also his death/life mask. 

The story of Martin Van Butchell can be read on the blog of All Things Georgian

Want a mid-week fix of all things body snatching? Then head on over to my blog at diggingup1800.com

Twitter @Diggingup1800

Instagram @Diggingup1800

Facebook @Diggingup1800

In This Episode:

We travel to the Scottish Borders, to a small village called Eckford and hear a short tale from 1829 that inspired the inhabitants of the parish to build a watchtower in the graveyard in an attempt to keep their loved ones safe. 

If you'd like to see this episode on my blog so that you can read it instead, you can find it on my website here 

Although there are specific books for Eckford, this and other stories can be found in the following books, all of which are great starting points if you're new to this darker side of history. 

• Norman Adams - Scottish Bodysnatchers
• Brian Bailey - The Resurrection Men 
• Martin Fido - Bodysnatchers
• Geoff Holder - Scottish Bodysnatchers:  A Gazetteer
• Suzie Lennox - Bodysnatchers: Digging Up The Untold Stories of Britain's Resurrection Men 

Want a mid-week fix of all things body snatching? Then head on over to my blog at diggingup1800.com

Twitter @Diggingup1800
Instagram @Diggingup1800
Facebook @Diggingup1800

In This Episode:

The story of Half Hangit Maggie is legendary in Edinburgh's Grassmarket and is a story universally known about the woman who survived a date with the hangman.

Having come across Maggie's story many times while researching body snatching, I decided to take in more detail at this remarkable woman and retell her story, one more time.  From her time in Musselburgh when her husband deserted her, to the moment she wakes up in her coffin,  join me as I look again at this legendary figure.

Taking Things Further & Recommended Reading

If you’d like to see this episode written in full on my blog post, in all its glory with pictures and full links to other blog posts etc. then you can find it here

I also mention Burke and Hare's victim Abigail Simpson, and you can read the blog post in full here

I recently came across Alison Butler's book on Maggie 'The Hanging of Margaret Dickson’ and although I've yet to read it, the author interview carried out by Unearthed Podcast sold it to me and it's on my 'must read' list. it is from this book that I discovered the name of Maggie's husband, Patrick Spence.

An excellent FREE online resource called ‘Inveresk Parish Lore From Pagan Times’ can help you piece together snippets from this Scottish parish.

The broadside ‘The Particulars of the Life, Trial, Character and Behaviour of Margaret Dickson’ was published in 1813 and has a few glaringly obvious errors, but can be accessed for FREE on the National Library of Scotland website and the section 'The Word on The Street’.

If you'd like to look at Margaret's story in the newspapers, it often appears in various different snippets. Access to the newspapers is via the British Newspaper Archive (£) and the account retelling the soldier’s experience at the gallows can be found in The Scots Magazine, Thursday, 1 December 1808, page 25

In This Episode:

In 1826 one of the biggest discoveries of cadavers awaiting shipment to the anatomy schools of Scotland was made at George Dock in Liverpool.

In this episode, I take a look at the case in more detail, from the bodysnatchers involved to the total body count and even the types of barrels used.

In the years before murderers Burke and Hare and the discovery of the Italian Boy Murderers in London, the discovery of 33 cadavers at George Dock that day in October 1826, would shake the city to its core.

Taking Things Further... (In Order of  Appearance)

If you’d like to see this episode written in full on my blog post, in all its glory with pictures and full links to other blog posts etc. then you can find it here

This is a very famous case for both Liverpool and within body snatching history so it can be relatively easy to find the odd tale or two about this case.

The best place to look though has to be on the British Newspaper Archive website, although you do need a subscription to view the articles themselves.

Marie McQuade's book 'School For Scandal'  is in the Liverpool History Society Journal, 5

Want a mid-week fix of all things body snatching? Then head on over to my blog at diggingup1800.com

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In this episode: 

I look at events before the rise of the professional body snatcher, when students and anatomists carried out their own midnight raids in graveyards to get cadavers for the dissecting table. 

I also look briefly at the most famous body snatching case of them all, the snatching of ‘The Irish Giant’ Charles Byrne in 1783 and then look at how a change in the law in 1788 was the turning point for the anatomists and medical students to head out of the graveyard and back into the dissecting rooms, leaving the way clear for the professional body snatcher to ply his trade.

Taking Things Further... (In Order of  Appearance)

If you’d like to see this episode written in full on my blog post, in all its glory with pictures and full links to other blog posts etc. then you can find it here 

Wendy Moore ‘The Knife Man’:  A superbly written biography on the life of William Hunter, the anatomist who opened a private anatomy school in Great Windmill Street, London and who stole the body of the Irish Giant, Charles Byrne. 

Martin Fido ‘Bodysnatchers: A History of The Resurrectionists’:  One of the first books on body snatching that I ever bought and I dip into it still nearly every day. 

Hubert Cole ‘Things For The Surgeon’: A classic,  just like Fido’s work -although now very hard to get hold of and horrendously expensive.   

If you’d like to read more on the cases discussed in this episode, plus many others, you can find them in my book Bodysnatchers: Digging Up The Untold Stories of Britain’s Resurrection Men’ : since publishing I’ve found many more body snatching cases so I hope you’ll keep joining me on my blog and for more podcast episodes. 

 Ruth Richardson ‘Death, Dissection & The Destitute’: A must for any body snatching fan’s bookcase.  Although over 30 years old now, this work is an absolute classic in the medical history sector and I can’t recommend it enough. 

'The Diary of A Resurrectionist’ written between November 1811 - December 1812 by a one-time member of the famous London band of body snatchers the Borough Gang. A fantastic insight into the world of body snatching, this little book is an absolute MUST READ. 

With background information about this dark art, written by James Blake Bailey, Librarian of The Royal College of Surgeons, London in the late 19th century, it’s a great starting point for those new to the subject area and a valuable resource for those with an unhealthy obsession like mine. 

It’s available as a FREE download on the Project Gutenberg Website or if you’re like me and need to read a hard copy, you can get it easily enough via the link above. 

Want a mid-week fix of all things body snatching? Then head on over to my blog at diggingup1800.com 

Twitter @Diggingup1800
Instagram @Diggingup1800
Facebook @Diggingup1800

Let me take you back to Georgian Britain, to an underworld where the goods bartered were human bodies and discover a darker side to medical history  ‘Body Snatching’ - a subject that only makes it into the history books, if you’re lucky.

From anatomy riots, and bodies being hidden in dung heaps,  to finding cadavers stuffed into barrels and being transported throughout Britain, this is a true-crime podcast with a difference.  

Forget the murderers' Burke and Hare, in this podcast, I’m going to share with you tales of real body snatchers - the type of men that history forgot. 

My name’s Suzie Lennox and I have an unhealthy obsession with the Georgian Underworld and a darker side to medical history and the forgotten art of body snatching.

I’m also the author behind the website diggingup1800.com where I write about the men who dug up cadavers for a living and sold them to the anatomy schools of Georgian Britain, where I share with you the best sites to visit to still see relics from this darker past and discover that no graveyard was safe from a visit from the resurrection men. 

And now I’m hosting a podcast, where I hope to make my blog posts available to a wider audience. 

Join me as I chat with medical historians, fellow authors and continue to dig deeper into this macabre practice. 

Catch up with me on social media @diggingup1800 where I take a closer look at what actually happened during the dissecting season