The Italian Boy: A Tale of Murder and Body Snatching in 1830s London by Sara Wise. The young Italian boy of the title is kidnapped from his home and press ganged into service aboard a ship. After suffering a series of travails, he winds up in Londons underworld, forced to do the bidding of resurrection men who specialize in robbing graves to provide fresh cadavers for the capitols medical schools. Wise depicts the London of the period intimately. I love books with atmosphere and this novel will leave you with the whiff of chimney soot up your nostrils and London grime embedded beneath your fingernails. Although its labeled as Young Adult, it is eminently suitable for Adults. Its a small book and a quick read, but a deeply compelling ride for the reader. One particular scene that has remained with me is a chilling description of a young girl who rides a private carousel naked for the prurient enjoyment of a rather disturbed Doctor. This would make a great YA read for teenagers of either sex.
Wise also has an excellent nonfiction book: The Blackest Streets The life and Death of a Victorian Slum. This book focuses on a rookery called The Old Nichol, one of the most notorious slums in London. The Old Nichol was a decrepit warren of 100-year-old houses on the verge of collapse. Despite this, the near-derelict properties were huge money makers for the absentee slumlords, which included Peers of the Realm, politicians and clergymen. The book is a chilling look at one of the darker chapters of London History. New copies of The Blackest Streets are available from Amazon (print versions). Used copies of the Italian boy are also available. You might try your local library. I highly recommend both books.
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The Italian Boy by Sara Wise
- Vaughn Entwistle
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- SonjaMarie
- Bibliomaniac
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This isn't YA or historical fiction, I've read it.
SM
SM
The Lady Jane Grey Internet Museum
My Booksfree Queue
Original Join Date: Mar 2006
Previous Amount of Posts: 2,517
Books Read In 2014: 109 - June: 17 (May: 17)
Full List Here: http://www.historicalfictiononline.com/ ... p?p=114965
My Booksfree Queue
Original Join Date: Mar 2006
Previous Amount of Posts: 2,517
Books Read In 2014: 109 - June: 17 (May: 17)
Full List Here: http://www.historicalfictiononline.com/ ... p?p=114965
- Vaughn Entwistle
- Scribbler
- Posts: 19
- Joined: July 2010
- Location: Seattle, Washington
Oops, yes, you're both correct. (This is what I get for reading 15 books at a time.)
The book I'm thinking of is the RESSURECTION MEN by T.K. Welsh. After reading this book I spotted the Sara Wise book and realized that the true life events had been the seed for the novel.
Ressurrection Men is pretty violent and gritty, which earned it a scathing review from Kirkus. It is considered a YA novel. It might be a bit much for some young people, but I was reading TALES FROM THE CRYPT and similar horror at that age.
Thanks for correcting my error. I'll be more circumspect next time. Sometimes, I only open my mouth to change feet.
The book I'm thinking of is the RESSURECTION MEN by T.K. Welsh. After reading this book I spotted the Sara Wise book and realized that the true life events had been the seed for the novel.
Ressurrection Men is pretty violent and gritty, which earned it a scathing review from Kirkus. It is considered a YA novel. It might be a bit much for some young people, but I was reading TALES FROM THE CRYPT and similar horror at that age.
Thanks for correcting my error. I'll be more circumspect next time. Sometimes, I only open my mouth to change feet.