Description
Bodysnatcher centres on the untold story of Helen McDougal, the partner of serial killer William Burke, in a visceral portrayal of love, sacrifice, and human depravity. Written by an author who won the 2019 Allan Lloyd Smith Prize for best edited collection devoted to Gothic Criticism and was shortlisted for both the J.I Segal Award and the Allan Lloyd Smith Memorial Prize, the novel is a product of rigorous archival research with 19th century features from The Scotsman. The narrative subverts the familiar premise of period crime and the working man's struggle by highlighting the experience of working-class women. It also demonstrates the complicated relations between the Irish and Scottish during the period. Thematically, Bodysnatcher explores abusive relationships, religion, and class.
About the Author
Carol Margaret Davison is an internationally renowned specialist in Gothic and Victorian literature and the series editor for Anthem Studies in Gothic Literature. Her monographs have been published by Palgrave Macmillan and Manchester University Press. She is the Director of the Sickly Taper website, the world's largest and most comprehensive website devoted to Gothic bibliography. She is also a Professor of Literature at the University of Windsor (Canada) and the former Head of the Department of English Literature and Creative Writing. Carol spent her early years in Harthill, Scotland, before emigrating to Canada with her family in 1966. Her longstanding fascination with Scottish working-class history and Gothic literature led to her interest in Burke and Hare. After discovering a second-hand copy of William Roughead's book about Burke and Hare (1921), which includes the trial transcript, in a Grassmarket bookstore in 2004, and coming across the Arthur's Seat Dolls in the Scottish National Museum a decade later, Carol began to sketch out her novel. Intertwining a Gothic and historical angle with feminist and working-class perspectives, Carol attempts to capture the invisible, unheard voices of Edinburgh in her first novel, Bodysnatcher.
Book Information
ISBN 9781901514834
Author Carol Margaret Davison
Format Paperback
Imprint Ringwood Publishing
Publisher Ringwood Publishing
About the Author
Carol Margaret Davison is an internationally renowned specialist in Gothic and Victorian literature and the series editor for Anthem Studies in Gothic Literature. Her monographs have been published by Palgrave Macmillan and Manchester University Press. She is the Director of the Sickly Taper website, the world's largest and most comprehensive website devoted to Gothic bibliography. She is also a Professor of Literature at the University of Windsor (Canada) and the former Head of the Department of English Literature and Creative Writing. Carol spent her early years in Harthill, Scotland, before emigrating to Canada with her family in 1966. Her longstanding fascination with Scottish working-class history and Gothic literature led to her interest in Burke and Hare. After discovering a second-hand copy of William Roughead's book about Burke and Hare (1921), which includes the trial transcript, in a Grassmarket bookstore in 2004, and coming across the Arthur's Seat Dolls in the Scottish National Museum a decade later, Carol began to sketch out her novel. Intertwining a Gothic and historical angle with feminist and working-class perspectives, Carol attempts to capture the invisible, unheard voices of Edinburgh in her first novel, Bodysnatcher.
Book Information
ISBN 9781901514834
Author Carol Margaret Davison
Format Paperback
Imprint Ringwood Publishing
Publisher Ringwood Publishing
