RESURRECTION MEN

VOYA, April 2007
"Medical scholars in 1830 London are desperate for dead bodies to use in the study of human anatomy. Body snatchers, or 'resurrection men' steal corpses from fresh graves, or even pose as dying poor in order to claim their bodies and sel1 them to researchers. Twelve-year Victor, an Italian orphan who has barely survived a ruthless sea journey, is purchased by resurrection men Biggs and Tipple to use as a driver for their carriage. They place him in a rundown house filled with beggar children. Victor’s fortune changes when a kind physician, Dr. Thomas Quigley, takes an interest in him. He moves in with Dr. Quigley and becomes his apprentice. But Victor is unable to forget Rebecca and Nico, his only two friends from his former residence. While attending a human dissection demonstrated by the renowned Dr. Crumm, Victor realizes that the subject on the table is Nico. Shocked and sickened, he is determined to find justice for his friend. In the process, he discovers that Dr. Crumm has been infecting kidnapped street children in order to study the disease.

"Welsh paints a harsh, bleak portrait of life in London during this period, with a special emphasis on the exploitation of the hordes of homeless children who roamed the streets. His plot and writing style are reminiscent of Oliver Twist by Dickens but far more graphic. Teen readers will thoroughly enjoy the hair-raising suspense in this historical thriller."

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