...a bracing adventure, and one where our ancestors are not reduced to characters of myth and legend, but real people of flesh and blood. It is through this most intimate dissection that the past is brought so vividly to life - The TelegraphIt''s an incisive book (pun intended) that will leave you with a newfound appreciation of the vessel that carries you through life - Irish IndependentThe remarkable stories of the world''s most famous body parts.Louis XIV''s rear end inspired the British National Anthem.Queen Victoria''s armpit led to the development of antiseptics.Robert Jenkin''s ear started a war.All too often, historical figures feel distant and abstract; more myth and legend than real flesh and blood. These stories of bodies and its parts remind us that history''s most-loved, and most-hated, were real breathing creatures who inhabited organs and limbs just like us - until they''re cut off that is.Medical historian Dr Suzie Edge investigates over 40 cases of how we''ve used, abused, dug up, displayed, experimented on, and worshipped body parts, including why Percy Shelley''s heart refused to burn; how Yao Niang''s toes started a 1000 year long ritual; why a giant''s bones are making us rethink medical ethics; and the strange case of Hitler''s right testicle.

''A brilliant, funny and thought-provoking book'' - Jonn Elledge''Compelling, provocative, and utterly brilliant'' - Dr Estelle ParanqueTHIS PAPERBACK FEATURES ADDITIONAL MATERIAL ON HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH IIHow the monarchs of England and Scotland met their deaths has been a wonderful mixture of violence, infections, overindulgence and occasional regicide. In Mortal Monarchs, medical historian Dr Suzie Edge examines 1,000 years of royal deaths to uncover the plots, accusations, rivalries, and ever-present threat of poison that the kings and queens of old faced.From the "bloody" fascinating story behind Oliver Cromwell''s demise and the subsequent treatment of his corpse and whether the arrow William II caught in the chest was an accident or murder, to Henry IV''s remarkable skin condition and the red-hot poker up Edward II''s rear end, Mortal Monarchs captivates, grosses-out and informs.In school many of us learned the dates they died and who followed them, but sadly never heard the varied - and oft-gruesome - way our monarchs met their maker. Featuring original medical research, this history forms a rich record not just of how these people died, but how we thought about and treated the human body, in life and in death.

What''s that smell? It''s HISTORY - and it STILL STINKS!Did you know that ancient Romans used wee as mouthwash? GROSS! Or that snot was behind some of history''s greatest discoveries? HUH?From French kings with boils on their bums to Victorians who liked to catch tears in special bottles, Wee, Snot and Slime Through Time features deadly battlefield diseases, disgusting dukes, beastly bacteria and slimy stories from the Egyptians to the Tudors and beyond.Packed with fascinating facts, hilarious illustrations and the snottiest, wee-tastic tales from our pongy past, get ready to be dunked into the foulest corners of history.

...a bracing adventure, and one where our ancestors are not reduced to characters of myth and legend, but real people of flesh and blood. It is through this most intimate dissection that the past is brought so vividly to life - The TelegraphIt''s an incisive book (pun intended) that will leave you with a newfound appreciation of the vessel that carries you through life - Irish IndependentThe remarkable stories of the world''s most famous body parts.Louis XIV''s rear end inspired the British National Anthem.Queen Victoria''s armpit led to the development of antiseptics.Robert Jenkin''s ear started a war.All too often, historical figures feel distant and abstract; more myth and legend than real flesh and blood. These stories of bodies and its parts remind us that history''s most-loved, and most-hated, were real breathing creatures who inhabited organs and limbs just like us - until they''re cut off that is.Medical historian Dr Suzie Edge investigates over 40 cases of how we''ve used, abused, dug up, displayed, experimented on, and worshipped body parts, including why Percy Shelley''s heart refused to burn; how Yao Niang''s toes started a 1000 year long ritual; why a giant''s bones are making us rethink medical ethics; and the strange case of Hitler''s right testicle.

''A brilliant, funny and thought-provoking book'' - Jonn Elledge''Compelling, provocative, and utterly brilliant'' - Dr Estelle ParanqueTHIS PAPERBACK FEATURES ADDITIONAL MATERIAL ON HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH IIHow the monarchs of England and Scotland met their deaths has been a wonderful mixture of violence, infections, overindulgence and occasional regicide. In Mortal Monarchs, medical historian Dr Suzie Edge examines 1,000 years of royal deaths to uncover the plots, accusations, rivalries, and ever-present threat of poison that the kings and queens of old faced.From the "bloody" fascinating story behind Oliver Cromwell''s demise and the subsequent treatment of his corpse and whether the arrow William II caught in the chest was an accident or murder, to Henry IV''s remarkable skin condition and the red-hot poker up Edward II''s rear end, Mortal Monarchs captivates, grosses-out and informs.In school many of us learned the dates they died and who followed them, but sadly never heard the varied - and oft-gruesome - way our monarchs met their maker. Featuring original medical research, this history forms a rich record not just of how these people died, but how we thought about and treated the human body, in life and in death.

What''s that smell? It''s HISTORY - and it STILL STINKS!Did you know that ancient Romans used wee as mouthwash? GROSS! Or that snot was behind some of history''s greatest discoveries? HUH?From French kings with boils on their bums to Victorians who liked to catch tears in special bottles, Wee, Snot and Slime Through Time features deadly battlefield diseases, disgusting dukes, beastly bacteria and slimy stories from the Egyptians to the Tudors and beyond.Packed with fascinating facts, hilarious illustrations and the snottiest, wee-tastic tales from our pongy past, get ready to be dunked into the foulest corners of history.