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The Dead Shall Not Rest    by Tessa Harris Amazon.com order for
Dead Shall Not Rest
by Tessa Harris
Order:  USA  Can
Kensington, 2012 (2012)
Softcover, CD, e-Book
* *   Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth

Life was very different in 1780s London than it is today. The clothes, the social mores, the food, the class system, transportation. And the most feared thing in burying a loved one was grave robbers. Your loved one might be buried in the morning; by dark the grave had been dug up, the coffin uncovered, the deceased removed, and everything but the corpse replaced as though the grave had never been disturbed.

Then the body was placed in a sack and trundled to the back door of a doctor's office. Body for money. The corpse was then used for dissection. I guess we should all thank those back door dissections as many things that benefit us today were learned from this practice.

The Dead Shall Not Rest by Tessa Harris revolves around this nasty practice. Enter Charles Byrne, the Irish Giant at eight feet plus tall. He is being exhibited in a fair when he is rescued by Dr. Thomas Silkstone and removed from his humiliation. Charles is dying and is aware of this fact. His main concern is that his body not be cut up for science.

The grave robbers vye for the chance to nab his body when he dies. Charles has a solution for this. The solution is clever and needs the help of friends. The thought of this gentle giant trying to save his body from being desecrated almost brings tears to the eyes. There was, in truth, a giant named Charles Bryne. He lived with his affliction and did no one any harm.

Read for yourself. It's an intriguing story. A thoughtful one that will stick with you. And a chance to see the world through someone else's eyes.

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