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The
Bodysnather
by
Robert Louis Stevenson
(unabridged)
(Audiobook) 
 The
Bodysnatcher first saw print
in an 1884 edition of the The Pall
Mall Gazette Extra.
Inspired by the events surrounding the infamous Burke and Hare and the
surgeon Robert Knox who paid them to do what they did, Stevenson's
story is about two young medical students who also worked for Knox
(referred to as 'K' in the story), and how their actions haunted them
for the rest of their lives.
The story begins with four men in an inn at Debenham. One member of the
group is an old drunken Scotsman named Fettes who has been living in
the town for a long time and is hard drinker. Fettes is obviously an
educated man and because he has shown an unusual knowledge of medicine
his friends call him the Doctor.
On the night in question a guest at the inn has been taken ill. He is
an important man and his personal physician has just arrived on the
train from London. When the doctor arrives the Landlord mentions his
name to the group. It is Macfarlane and on hearing the name Fettes
snaps out of his drunken stupor and it becomes apparent that he is
familiar with the man.
Fettes confronts Macfarlane as he is leaving and it is obvious that the
two men share a dark secret. After Macfarlane flees the inn Fettes
shares that dark secret with his friends and the real story begins.
The
Bodysnatcher is quite an
enjoyable story and Fettes is a very believable character whose outlook
on life is gradually changed by his experiences. At first he is
flattered by Mr. K's trust in him and is happy to take receipt of the
specimens that arrive in the night. Later though he begins to have
doubts about how the bodies have been acquired. Out of Loyalty to K he
turns a blind eye to the evidence in front of him, but when he takes
receipt of someone who he knew quite well and had seen alive and
kicking only hours later, he has second thoughts about the whole thing
and it is Macfarlane who talks him round and changes the way he sees
things. As time passes the two men share an even darker secret and it
is this that eventually tears them apart.
Jimcin Recordings
audiobook of The Bodysnatcher
has a runtime of about forty-six minutes and John L. Chatty's
leisurely narration of this classic tale of terror is easy on the ear
and will make a good addition to any audiobook library.
Read the full story
online
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