DiggingUp1800: The Podcast

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 profession9:42   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 student14:22  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 student19:36  Students providing cadavers for dissection & anatomists relationship with body snatchers     23:16  I’m asked a surprise question on the total number of cadavers stolen24:19  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 Doctors30:48  We dive back into the subject of body snatching33:41  Keats: His medical notebook & time as a medical student39:18  The influence of medicine on Keates poetry40:50  Suzie’s thoughts on body snatching & its importance in medical history43:39  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 BritainDeath, Disease & Dissection John Keats: Poetry, Life & Landscape You can Follow Suzie On Social Media TwitterFacebook Website Want a mid-week fix of all things body snatching? Then head on over to my blog at diggingup1800.comTwitter @Diggingup1800Instagram @Diggingup1800Facebook @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 grave4:42    Digging up putrid cadavers & what to do with the grave clothes8:09    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 grave28:46  The snatching of Senator John Scott Harrison 34:18  Punishments for body snatching & the role of the anatomists38:50  The anatomists & their relationship with body snatchers 39:08  William Cunningham aka ‘Old Cunny’ & his ‘apprentice’ Charles Keaton42:20  Anatomy Riots & Anatomy Acts44:22 Chris’ favourite body snatchers including an American burking Case    49:58 A final Body snatching legend to finish with Books Mentioned In This EpisodeBrian Bailey: The Diary of a Resurrectionist Curt Dalton: Body Snatching in OhioRuth Richardson: Death, Dissection & The DestituteMichael Sappol:  A Traffic in Dead BodiesIf 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.comTwitter @Diggingup1800Instagram @Diggingup1800Facebook @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 preventionYou can also see the story of Helen Miller on my websiteDiscover more stories in Scottish Bodysnatchers: True Accounts by Norman AdamsGo exploring with Geoff Holder’s Scottish Bodysnatchers: A GazetteerWant a mid-week fix of all things body snatching? Then head on over to my blog at diggingup1800.comTwitter @Diggingup1800Instagram @Diggingup1800Facebook @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 Season06:30 - The Barber-Surgeons 07:46 - Private Anatomy Schools 09:26 - Old Surgeons’ Hall & body snatching11:03 - The condition of cadavers on arrival15:15 - The part where Cat explains decomposition    20:40 - Storing Cadavers and using cadavers for dissection    24:45 - The wonderful story of Martin Van Butchell27:07 - Dissection and The Paris Manner34.44 - Finally we get to Burke & Hare 37:06 - Those bits of a cadavers anatomists wouldn’t be interested in39:22 - What happened to cadavers after being anatomised41:22 - Cat’s Blog These Wandering Bones44:01 - Thanks & visiting Surgeons’ Hall Museum How To Find My Guest Cat Irving: Cat’s blog These Wandering Bones Twitter @AnatomicalCatFacebook @CatIrvingThe 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 GeorgianWant a mid-week fix of all things body snatching? Then head on over to my blog at diggingup1800.comTwitter @Diggingup1800Instagram @Diggingup1800Facebook @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 BodysnatchersBrian Bailey - The Resurrection Men Martin Fido - BodysnatchersGeoff Holder - Scottish Bodysnatchers:  A GazetteerSuzie 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.comTwitter @Diggingup1800Instagram @Diggingup1800Facebook @Diggingup1800