Burke and Hare

by Owen Dudley Edwards

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Book cover for Burke and Hare

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In a boarding house in West Port, an old army pensioner dies of natural causes. He owes the landlord GBP4 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. They make a profit of GBP3 and 10 shillings. 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. And it's all true!
  • ISBN13 9781841589855
  • Publish Date 29 October 2010
  • Publish Status Out of Print
  • Out of Print 7 November 2013
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher Birlinn General
  • Imprint Birlinn Ltd
  • Format Paperback
  • Pages 320
  • Language English