The Specimens : A bold retelling of Burke and Hare’s crimes from the women closest to the gruesome truth by Mairi Kidd

"A work of fiction that is both a potent portrait of early 19th-century Edinburgh but also a story about female agency or the lack of it. The result is a compelling, painful, haunted piece of work." THE HERALD

Up the close and down the stair, meet the women of Burke and Hare

Edinburgh, 1828. Two women - one rich, one poor - must navigate life against a frenzied backdrop of medical discovery, mob mayhem, and murder.

Susan's sheltered life as the wife of Robert Knox, a wealthy anatomist, is a far cry from Helen's perilous existence in the Old Town slums with her lover William Burke. Yet as people begin disappearing, these two different women face the same impossible choice. Should they protect what they have or tell the truth about what they know?Discover the notorious serial killings of Burke and Hare, told for the first time through the eyes of women whose stories reveal the depths of the human heart.

This is the story of the notorious serial killings of Burke and Hare, told for the first time through the eyes of two very different women, whose stories explore the depths of the human heart in a perilous, vulnerable world.

PRAISE FOR THE SPECIMENS"Beguiling and atmospheric, this is as much an engrossing character study as a bold reimagining of the infamous anatomy murders." HEAT MAGAZINE"A fresh, feminine take on the horrors of Burke and Hare and their complicit Edinburgh anatomists" SALLY MAGNUSSON"Gruesomely gripping, this story will stay with you for a long time, its characters so well developed, you fear you might bump into one in a dark Edinburgh close" SUE LAWRENCE"Mairi Kidd draws a fine thread between women's bodily experiences now and then, and her voice is so authentic I felt as if I was there" LUCY RIBCHESTER

Format:Paperback / softback 288 pages
Publisher:Bonnier Books Ltd
Imprint:Black and White Publishing
ISBN:9781785307539
Published:31 Jul 2025
Classifications:Thriller / suspense, Historical fiction
Weight:204g