THE STUDY OF ANATOMY IN
Britain during the 18th and 19th
centuries relied on cadavers sold
to scientists by men who simply
dug them up (this page)—or, in
some cases, committed murder.
Opposite: Experiment on a Bird in
the Air Pump, a 1768 painting by
Joseph Wright of Derby, shows a
natural philosopher toying with
life by systematically depriving
a bird of oxygen.22 LIFE FRANKENSTEIN