The Specimens by Mairi Kidd

A bold retelling of Burke and Hare’s crimes from the women closest to the gruesome truth

"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

WATERSTONES SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE MONTH AUGUST 2025

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.

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
Dimensions:127 x 198 x 27 (mm)