The Post-Mortem Travels of a 19th Century Criminal Corpse

In this talk, historian Shane McCorristine reveals one of the most remarkable criminal afterlives in history. On the 18th May 1827, the son of a respectable farmer, William Corder, murdered his lover Maria Martin in the Red Barn, a well-known landmark in the village of Polstead, Suffolk. After Corder was arrested and tried in a high profile case, he was found guilty and subsequently hanged and flayed at a public ticketed execution. The next day, his body was sent to the anatomists and after a full dissection many of his body parts were sold to members of the public as murderabilia.

McCorristine will explore why some criminal corpses are marked out as particularly heinous and deserving of post-mortem punishment. He will reveal the practice of relic hunters, the art of murder ballads and melodramas, the stories of books bound in human skin and the fates of the skeletons of criminals.

This lecture will take place virtually, via Zoom. Attendees may request a video recording after the lecture takes place by emailing proof of purchase to info@acuriousinvitation.com