The Italian Boy

A thrilling history of England's great metropolis at a point of great change, told through the story of a young vagrant murdered by "resurrection men" Before his murder in 1831, the "Italian boy" was one of thousands of orphans on the streets of London, moving among the livestock, hawkers, and con men, begging for pennies. When his body was sold to a London medical college, the suppliers were arrested for murder. Their high-profile trial would unveil London's furtive trade in human corpses carried out by body-snatchers--or "resurrection men"--who killed to satisfy the first rule of the cadaver market: the fresher the body, the higher the price. Historian Sarah Wise reconstructs not only the boy's murder but the chaos and squalor of London that swallowed the fourteen-year-old vagrant long before his corpse appeared on the slab. In 1831, the city's poor were desperate and the wealthy were petrified, the population swelling so fast that old class borders could not possibly hold. All the while, early humanitarians were pushing legislation to protect the disenfranchised, the courts were establishing norms of punishment and execution, and doctors were pioneering the science of human anatomy. Vivid and intricate, The Italian Boy restores to history the lives of the very poorest Londoners and offers an unparalleled account of the sights, sounds, and smells of a city at the brink of a major transformation.

Towards the end of 1831, the authorities unearthed a series of crimes at Number 3, Nova Scotia Gardens in East London that appeared to echo the notorious Burke and Hare killings in Edinburgh three years earlier. After a long investigation, three bodysnatchers were put on trial for supplying the anatomy schools of London with suspiciously fresh bodies for dissection.They later became known as The London Burkers, and their story was dubbed 'The Italian Boy' case. The furore which led directly to the passing of controversial legislation which marked the beginning of the end of body snatching in Britain. In The Italian Boy, Sarah Wise not only investigates the case of the London Burkers but also, by making use of an incredibly rich archival store, the lives of ordinary lower-class Londoners. Here is a window on the lives of the poor - a window that is opaque in places, shattered in others but which provides an unprecedented view of low-life London in the 1830s.

Legislation which marked the end of body-snatching in 1830s Britain was the result of investigations in The Italian Boy case in which examples for dissection were supplied to anatomy schools. This title examines this episode in history and the lives of lower-class Londoners of the period.

Film and Phenomenology presents a new approach to the question of cinematic representation, which runs contrary to the course of contemporary film theory.Film and Phenomenology presents a new approach to the question of cinematic representation which runs contrary to the course of contemporary film theory.

Born near the Tuscan province of Lucca in 1815, Domenico Brucciani became the most important and prolific maker of plaster casts in nineteenth-century Britain. This first substantive study shows how he and his business used public exhibitions, emerging museum culture and the nationalisation of art education to monopolise the market for reproductions of classical and contemporary sculpture. Based in Covent Garden in London, Brucciani built a network of fellow Italian émigré formatori and collaborated with other makers of facsimiles-including Elkington the electrotype manufacturers, Copeland the makers of Parian ware and Benjamin Cheverton with his sculpture reducing machine-to bring sculpture into the spaces of learning and leisure for as broad a public as possible. Brucciani's plaster casts survive in collections from North America to New Zealand, but the extraordinary breadth of his practice-making death masks of the famous and infamous, producing pioneering casts of anatomical, botanical and fossil specimens and decorating dance halls and theatres across Britain-is revealed here for the first time. By making unprecedented use of the nineteenth-century periodical press and dispersed archival sources, Domenico Brucciani and the Formatori of Nineteenth-Century Britain establishes the significance of Brucciani's sculptural practice to the visual and material cultures of Victorian Britain and beyond.

Toro's debut novel offers a divine love story that takes one man back and forth between the Northeast and Midwest. When Michael leaves New York City and returns to Ohio, where he grew up, his life is a shambles. His ex-wife allows him to stay with her as he gets back on his feet, but their relationship remains broken. However, God intervenes in Michael's life, starting with a miracle that cures his chronic anxiety. Michael then has a vision and falls in love with a girl he's never met and feels prompted by God to woo her. A series of small miracles occurs to assist him; for example, he sends her a photograph of an angel statue that unintentionally includes the digits of his phone number. The path to love is not without trials, and Michael, his ex-wife and his new love interest must go through a healing process before they can find happy endings. Toro tells the story using a rhythmic, poetic style, giving the novel a dreamlike quality that compliments its romantic elements. This style does have its limitations, however; although the book's prayers and dialogue have a pleasant ring, they don't necessarily resemble natural speech. One prayer reads, in part, "I'd like for this ride to end...to put an end to this terrible spin, and start me anew on who you're willing to send...a normal but blessed love about to begin." Some plot details are so finely woven into the prose that casual readers may miss key information. Overall, Michael does a great deal of praying and reflecting--a narrative choice that benefits from the work's rhythmic style--creating a story that focuses more on emotion than action. A marriage of poetry and prose for fans of inspirational and romantic fiction. -- Kirkus Reviews

Once bitten by the writing bug, it was hard for David to stop, so he continues sharing his life and times. In his current book, ."..And Then Some," he turns everyday experiences into charming and humorous tales with surprise endings as he reflects on current issues and events from the vantage point of one "Little Italian Boy" who has lived and loved for more than 85 years. For more information check out www.littleitalianboy.com.

This is a story about me, as a little Italian boy born in a small town in Massachusetts. My father and mother came to this country in the early 1900s. Neither spoke English or knew anything about American money. They asked for nothing, and received nothing, from government assistance. I remember my father saying he had only thirteen cents in his pocket when he came here from the old country, but he had a strong determination to become an American. His newfound freedom to learn a different vocation, and the chance to become a businessman, gave him hope for a positive future for his family.

A warm and witty story about a young man discovering the difficulties and joys of finding his way in the world.