Burke and Hare
The True Story Behind the Infamous Edinburgh Murderers
by Owen Dudley-Edwards
£14.99
Add to BasketReviews
Gruesome and often funny. And sometimes both together
The Observer
The definitive account of the lives and trial of the pair . . . a gripping account
Dumfries and Galloway Standard
There are many who think that they know about Burke and Hare. However, there will be considerable gaps in their knowledge that this book will supply
Scottish Law Gazette
I have not enjoyed reading Scottish history so much for a long time . . . an intelligent and minute examination of the evidence, with a clear sense of humanity, politics and drama
Scottish Local History
About the Book
A true story of desperation, greed, corruption and betrayal.
In a boarding house in West Port, an old army pensioner dies of natural causes. He owes the landlord rent. Instead of burying the body, the landlord, William Hare, and his friend, William Burke, fill the coffin with bark and sell the corpse to Dr. Robert Knox, an ambitious Edinburgh anatomist. They make a profit of GBP3 and 10 shillings. After this encouraging outcome, Burke and Hare decide to suffocate another sickly tenant.
So begins the criminal career of the most notorious double act in serial killing. Here is the unvarnished, human story behind the infamous Burke and Hare murders. We delve into their past, their personalities and the circumstances that made them resort to murder as a money-making scheme. It's a tale of desperation and greed, of outsiders, ambition, corruption and betrayal. And it's all true!
The Author
Owen Dudley-Edwards
Owen Dudley Edwards was initially led to his subjects by something he holds in common with them; he too is an Irish Catholic now making a contribution to higher learning in Edinburgh. A noted scholar, he is Reader in History at Edinburgh University and is a regular contributor and reviewer for radio, television and the press. His previous books include The Quest for Sherlock Holmes: A Biographical Study of Arthur Conan Doyle, Mind of an Actvist: James Connolly and P. G. Wodehouse: A Critical and Historical Study.
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Paperback | Pub: 17 Jul 2025£9.99
They got away with murder once . . . In the shadowy closes of Edinburgh’s Old Town, sixteen people are murdered to feed surgeon Dr Robert Knox’s insatiable need for his anatomy classes. Burke and Hare and their wives, Lucky and Nelly, are all...
