ALSO BY IMOGEN ROBERTSON Instruments of Darkness IMOGEN ROBERTSON ANATOMY of MURDER PAMELA DORMAN BOOKS VIKING VIKING Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. • Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) • Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) • Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England First American edition Published in 2012 by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Copyright © Imogen Robertson, 2010 All rights reserved A Pamela Dorman Book / Viking Publisher’s Note This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA Robertson, Imogen, 1973– Anatomy of murder / Imogen Robertson. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-10156022-8 1. Anatomists—Fiction. 2. London (England)—History—18th century—Fiction. I. Title. PR6118.O2376A53 2011 823'.92—dc23 2011036291 Designed by Carla Bolte No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. For Ned Contents PROLOGUE PART I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 PART II 1 2 3 4 5 PART III 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 PART IV 1 2 3 4 5 6 PART V 1 2 3 4 5 PART VI 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 PART VII 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 PART VIII EPILOGUE HISTORICAL NOTE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS hanks are due to a great many people. For particular help and advice I am T grateful to the composer Gwyn Pritchard, who first mentioned to me the use of the castrati in eighteenth-century opera, and the implications of their position in society; to Maya Magub, Sebastian Comberti, Alex Anderson-Hall and James McOran-Campbell for speaking to me about the lives of professional musicians and singers; to the countertenor Iestyn Davies for our discussions of the castrati repertoire and history; to Gerald Stern for speaking to me about the possible and plausible effects of brain injury; to Richard Woodman and the excellent staff of the National Maritime Museum on matters naval; to the staff of the British Library for their help with much other research and to Christine Woodman for a particular moment of inspiration. My friends and family have continued, very kindly, to provide the essential patience, care and enthusiasm which makes writing possible; I’d also like to thank Richard Foreman and the writers I have met through working with him and David Headley at Goldsboro Books for their support, also my agent, Annette Green, the team at Headline, and all at Pamela Dorman Books for their enthusiasm, hard work and many kindnesses. Every day of writing this book I have been cared for, indulged, supported and occasionally scolded by Ned. It helped. LONDON, 1871 Key Points of Interest 1 Residence of the Earl of Sussex 2 Residence of Lord Carmichael 3 Mr. Fitzraven’s rooms 4 Mrs. Spitter’s house 5 Adams’s Music Shop 6 Mr. Bywater’s rooms 7 His Majesty’s Theatre 8 The Admiralty Office 9 Mrs. Bligh’s room