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The Body Snatcher, Gothic Mystery Short Story by Robert Louis Stevenson

Description

The Body Snatcher is a Gothic Mystery Short Story by Robert Louis Stevenson. If you’ve never read this tale before, I highly recommend it! This gothic story is told in an embedded narrative and is inspired by the true crimes of William Hare and William Burke in 1828.

The Hare and Burke murders were a series of 16 killings committed in Edinburgh, Scotland where the men would dig up corpses and sell the bodies to Doctor Robert Knox for dissection at his anatomy lectures.

Included in this short story analysis:

  • Full text of the story “The Body Snatcher” by Robert Louis Stevenson (PDF)
  • Academic Vocabulary graphic organizer and answer key (PDF and word document)
  • Powerpoint presentation which includes:
    • biography and popular works of Robert Louis Stevenson
    • historical context of body snatching in the 19th century and the resurrection men
    • the Anatomy Act of 1832 explained
    • historical context of the Burke are Hare murders (also known as the West Port murders)
  • During reading comprehension questions and answer key (PDF and word document)
  • after reading discussion questions (PDF and word document)
  • analyzing theme graphic organizer and answer key (PDF and word document)

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