The Body Snatcher
by Robert Louis Stevensonliterary work· published 1884
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"The Body Snatcher" is a short story by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. First published in The Pall Mall Gazette in December 1884, its characters were based on criminals in the employ of the surgeon Robert Knox around the time of the notorious Burke and Hare murders in 1828. A group of friends are having a few drinks when an eminent doctor, Wolfe Macfarlane, enters. One of the friends, Fettes, recognises the name and angrily confronts the new arrival. Although his friends find this behaviour suspicious, none of them can understand what might lie behind it. It turns out that Macfarlane and Fettes had attended medical school together under Mr. K, an anatomy professor.
Adaptations (1)
The Body Snatcher was adapted into a 1945 film.
The Body Snatcher1945 · film · 78 min · dir. Robert Wise · IMDb ↗Edinburgh, 1831. Among those who undertake the illegal trade of grave robbery is Gray, ostensibly a cab driver. Formerly a medical student convicted of grave robbery, Gray holds a grudge against Dr. MacFarlane who had escaped detection and punishment.
