The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black

The first half of the book is a biography into the doctor's past of robbing graves for anatomy studies. As with good dark fantasy, there are unanswered questions. Questions maybe you don't want to know the answer to. The second half features the anatomy breakdown of these mythical creatures. These are drawings of bones and muscles similar in style to those you find in human anatomy books, and therefore have an eerie vibe. The art is great. If aliens find this book in the future, they would probably believe these creatures are real.

The Lost Work of Dr. Here are direct links to the book: Stay informed on our latest news! Check your email and spam folder to confirm your subscription. As those around him age, Gray remains young and beautiful. Knowing his actions have no consequences he lives a w The Gormenghast Trilogy Mervyn Peake 9.

Titus, heir to Lord Sepulchrave, has just been born: Inside, all events are p Murder and monstrosity on the streets of Victorian London. Nineteenth century London can be a very dangerous place. Beneath the prim and proper morals of Victorian society Imagine the twisted evil twins of Holmes and Watson and you have the dangerous duo of Professor James Moriarty — wily, snake-like, fiercely intelligent, terrifyingly Frankenstein Mary Shelley 9. A misguided scientist seeks to instill life in a creature he has assembled from the bodies of the dead This Dark Endeavour Kenneth Oppel 9.

In this prequel to Mary Shelley's gothic classic, Frankenstein, year-old Victor Frankenstein begins a dark journey that will change his life forever. A small, quiet Midwestern town, unremarkable save for one fact: When Lumen Fowler looks back on her childhood, Genesis George Udenkwo 8. Nov 01, Zoeytron rated it it was ok Shelves: It never occurred to me that I wouldn't love this book, but it just never really came together for me, the excellent anatomical illustrations of mythical beasties notwithstanding. The cover itself is riveting, depicting the skeletal structure of a harpy.

This is the fictional biography of one Dr. Son of a grave robber, the seed of madness was planted early.

Review — The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black by E. B. Hudspeth

As a grown man, his hypothesis was that we have evolved from satyrs, harpies, the chimera, dragons, and the like. The ways in It never occurred to me that I wouldn't love this book, but it just never really came together for me, the excellent anatomical illustrations of mythical beasties notwithstanding. The ways in which he goes about proving his theory are grotesque. Had my name written all over it, but it just didn't work for me at all. It made me skim. I hate when that happens.

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Feb 23, Mara rated it liked it Shelves: Spencer Black I'm pretty unclear on the fiction to non-fiction ratio going on in this book mythical creatures notwithstanding. However, having endured several semesters of the history of science and cranked out more than one term paper on curiosity cabinets , I can safely say that almost all of this could have been true. Scientists, doctors, surgeons and whatnot by necessity were talented artists if you don't believe me, check out Galen and Vesalius' c The Resurrectionist: Scientists, doctors, surgeons and whatnot by necessity were talented artists if you don't believe me, check out Galen and Vesalius' circulation diagrams.

And, what's more, the natural historians' "cabinets of curiosity" did branch off into the very un-P. Spencer Black's tale involves all of the aforementioned elements at their darkest and most horrifying. Convinced that mythological creatures were evolutionary offspurts, and that he could re-unlock the key to past lives in living creatures, Black's descent into madness took quite a few twists and turns. The book is short and full of illustrations, so I don't feel all that guilty not offering much in the way of a summary.

As someone who cried during the Fox and the Hound and was left catatonic after seeing White Fang to say nothing of Old Yeller , there were definitely parts of this that I had to skim. Aug 19, Hannah Greendale rated it really liked it Shelves: Spencer Black, mythological creatures -- mermaids, fawns, minotaurs, etc. In attempt to prove his theory, he ventured down a dark path, cobbling together body parts in the depths of a gaslit storage shed.

His progress was cataloged in a number of chilling letters written to his brother, and the result of his work was The Codex Extinct Animalia: His biography, letters, and the Codex are included in this imaginative, wonderfully disturbing book. Black speculated that perhaps the human being is not the best result of evolution; perhaps our ancestors shared traits with some of the ancient animals or, more accurately, ancient mythological animals.

Black claimed that scientific evidence proving the existence of ancient mythological animals had been concealed by unnamed parties; taxonomy records were destroyed, constellation records were changed, fairy tales were altered and rewritten, all in an attempt to ignore our true history. Sep 06, Travis O. MAY 27, The Resurrectionist Review Do you remember when horror, dark fantasy, and weird fiction were almost as fringe as the occult studies themselves? Unfortunately for many fans of the grotesque and horrible, the stratospheric rise of franchises like Twilight and Harry Potter have, whatever their individual merits, stripped us of our creepers and crawlers, nightmares and madness, and returned them as a sanitized, sterile, and often vapid caricatures for their former macabre beauty.

It can b MAY 27, The Resurrectionist Review Do you remember when horror, dark fantasy, and weird fiction were almost as fringe as the occult studies themselves? It can be tough to find quality examples of twisted fiction in today's saturated market with its deluge of zombies, vampires, and dime-a-dozen serial killers, murderous vigilantes, and caped crusaders. But if, like me, you value true fright for the sake of its uncanny allure, if you like gazing over the edge of the abyss into the quivering, cannibalistic recesses of the human mind, I've got some horribl ly excellent news for you.

The Ressurectionist, by E. Hudsperth, is a one-of-a-kind treasure. And it's damn beautiful, too. Quirk Books is a publisher of books that are, well, quirky. I'd be hard pressed to describe The Resurrectionist so lightly, though. When I think "quirky," I think ironic, dryly humorous and maybe with a tinge of underground dissent or unexpected cuteness. I don't think "mad scientist," I don't think "taxidermy gone knives-to-the-wall crazy," and I most certainly don't think "alternate evolutionary theories, Darwin be damned! A fascinating blend of fiction and art, The Resurrectionist sinks its hooks into your guts and doesn't let go as it examines with the unflinching scrutiny of an autopsy the strange life of Dr.

Spencer Black and his increasingly deranged work. The first half of the book is that biographic novella, which weighs in at 63 pages; the second half is an equally long full-page anatomical study of some of the most famous creatures out of myth and legend. These include skeletal, muscular, and tissue-level renderings. Think of this as a Grey's Anatomy of cryptids, and you'd be on the right track. But The Resurrectionist is not a one-trick pony. I might try to sell itself on the merits of the fascinating art in the back, but that doesn't mean the biography is allowed to skid by on easy heels.

The study of Dr. Black's life is fully fleshed out and disturbingly believable. For fans of Lovecraft, Stephen King, or any quality horror writer, Dr. Black's archetype will be instantly recognizable: His father, a grave-robbing anatomist, often called a "Resurrectionist" because of the bodies he steals, teaches his sons to study closely and carefully the secrets of the human body.

By his early twenties, Spencer Black proves himself to be a prodigy surgeon, his genius is fourishing to perform medical miracles that win him fame the world over. But like the many evil geniuses before him, he is impatient with the knife, unsatisfied with the imperfect work it does. He turns to darker, older secrets, to the lore of the old world in which he finds, eventually, an alternative theory to the pervading Darwinian explanation of biological evolution. From this new understanding, he reasons, all of the monsters of myth and legend came to evolve into the human race. This belief drives him to the fringe, much the way of Dr.

Taleyarkhan and others regarding Cold Fusion in the twentieth century. In his search for "evidence," Black's chronicler does little to discourage the reader from despising him. It reads like one would expect a textbook examination of a monster to read; the bias is clear and unshorn. This lends a further sense of credence to the tale, since it gives the illusion of a studied and long-held grudge against the man, similar to how we view Jack the Ripper nowadays with a macabre fascination and abhorrence.

Indeed, Jack and Spencer share much and more. What struck me most about The Resurrectionist is how well it is put together. The novella is well-written and precisely paced, to be sure, but it works its magic in the conjectured diagnosis of Spencer Black's motive. The included letters from various participants, scribbled nonsense, and circus-style advertisements for his godforsaken sideshows crank the verisimilitude to And, it bears mentioning that the typeface, coloring, and internal layout scream care and attention.

It goes without saying, too, that a lot of love was poured into the anatomical portion of the book. Those strange taxidermist drawings are given both reason and justifications for existence by the unsettling tale that preludes them, which in turn requires the drawings to exist. I can't imagine this there; it belongs right in the art section, perhaps alongside the fantasy where normally your find art books dedicated to Tolkien and Lovecraft. Part Frankenstein, part Gray's Anatomy, and seemingly sprung from the mind of a man like H.

Holmes, The Resurrectionist makes it nearly impossible to tear your eyes away from the horror and spectacle it presents. I can think of a hundred people who would find this a terribly disagreeable book The Resurrectionist exists with grim purpose and grotesque style, seeking to recapture our fascination with the politically-incorrect freak shows of yesteryear we call it Reality TV today. For a fan of dark fantasy and horror, it represents the fusing of two distinct lines of interest into a peerless package of twisted genius.

Inventive idea to combine grave robbing, and mids medicine with carnivals and cryptids. Dr Spencer Black begins as an assistant grave robber for his father, then becomes a doctor and a gifted surgeon. He becomes fascinated by the idea that mythical creatures existed in the past, and human mutations fused digits and other unusual bony and soft structures are remnants of these creatures in our physiology. Spencer Black begins experimenting on animals, fusing different animals' bo 3.

Spencer Black begins experimenting on animals, fusing different animals' body parts together, and eventually loses the respect of his peers for his claims and behaviours and beliefs. Spencer appears progressively crazy to others while he travels the world, first with a carnival, then on his own, searching for evidence for his hypotheses and continuing his experiments.

I liked the creepiness and though the style of writing didn't feel s enough, I enjoyed the writing nonetheless. The codex of anatomy studies of various cryptids following the story of Spencer Black is well done, and feels like a serious study by an early surgeon. Feb 28, Bonnie rated it it was ok Shelves: All are innocent and equaled when they are on the table.

All are exquisite and grotesque. Spencer Black is a controversial surgeon in the late 's who has developed a fascination with the deformities of the human body. It's a gruesome and at times shocking tale of the lengths the good doctor would go to in order to continue his research. This story defin My rating: This story definitely had potential to fascinate, especially regarding the aspects that Black believed deformities were actually 'evidence of a genetic code that was not completely eradicated'.

The idea that mythological creatures were ancestors of humankind is really quite intriguing but unfortunately failed to stir any lasting interest. It all read like a Wiki page: I think it would have been much more interesting if written as an actual short story or novella rather than a biography.

The artwork was incredibly detailed and Reading this book as an ebook would hardly do it justice considering this is very much a coffee-table type book. It's also a book that could be read through quickly considering the text amounts to approximately 65 pages but considering the style of writing it may be more interesting to read small bits at a time.

Overall I found The Resurrectionist to be a macabre tale that will likely interest fans of Frankenstein and Dr. The artwork is truly the most interesting part of this book and is worth checking out for that alone. Jun 10, Sud rated it it was amazing Shelves: OK enough adjectives for you. I will warn any readers who are shrinking violets to avoid this book altogether. The Philadelphia's Museum of Medical Antiquities helped in the publishing of this book by providing many of the preserved notes. It is a shocking and disturbing, depending on your mindset, biography of a deeply brilliant and shockingly disturbed Doctor.

Born in Boston in , Dr. Spencer Black and his older brother, Bernard, to renowned surgeon Gregory Black. Black was a respected professor of anatomy at the Medical Arts College of Boston. But he had a dark side-many of the cadavers for his research came from grave-robbing. In fact, he took his sons with him on his escapades to find "subjects". The father dies of smallpox in and this convinces both brothers to pursue medical studies.

Both brothers enter the Philadelphia Academy of Medicine and while Bernard is quite a good student, it turns out that Spencer is brilliant. Bernard focus on natural history, fossils and natural sciences.

The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black by E.B. Hudspeth

Spencer in his first year begins to specialize in the studies of mutations and focuses on sharpening his illustrations skills by sketching anatomy for other Professors. Eventually Spencer's brilliance leads him getting his own Ward-Ward C. Inside Ward C revolutionary medical procedures cement Spencer's reputation as a prodigy. His illustrative skill has also reached an exceptional level. The rest of the book-using his notes and diary entries shows the slow and steady disintegration of this brilliant mind.

His fascination with vivisection and anatomy have caused him to alienate his other colleagues with his bizarre utterances about legendary creatures. I will not ruin the rest-but it is rather shocking and graphic when you find out what Dr. Black has really been up to. The rest of the book, which is divided into two parts, finishes the downright shocking and horrifying biography of a once brilliant, but now deeply disturbed person. I will warn you that what is described, is rather graphic. The second part of the book is the Codex Extinct Animalia- stunning reproductions of his vivisectional sketches.

He thought there were real mythological creatures and spent time creating "real life" versions of these mythological beats. Again an interesting, but disturbing look, into a brilliantly decaying mind. If you like horror, I highly recommend this. A beautiful book, well illustrated and of high quality design. This one will grace my tabletop and shock my friends for a long time. View all 5 comments. Jan 25, S. Lindberg rated it it was amazing Shelves: Hybrid Art Forms in Man: Spencer Black opens with a dense, interesting narrative: Readers tend to get bored with extended narratives, so this introduction is appropriately short.

The author sets the horrific tenor here, enticing the reader to share the excitement that Spencer feels Hybrid Art Forms in Man: The author sets the horrific tenor here, enticing the reader to share the excitement that Spencer feels for defining the human condition. Only sensitive readers will cringe at the horror since author E. Hudspeth is tactful in his delivery of the macabre.

I hear them marvel at my work—my indignant science. I hear them call out in fear of what they see. And there are some gentlemen who doubt what I will tell them. They call me a liar and a charlatan or a quack. But in time the methods of science that I now employ to convince people will surely set them free—alas, this I cannot explain to the angry fools. Most understood that all vertebrates shared a common skeletal structure; but if animals and man were connected in their development, was it not reasonable to reconsider the existence of creatures termed mythological?

Spencer Black needed to know. Hudspeth uses him to lure us on this quest. There are real life analogues to the fictitious Spencer. Ernst Haeckel — comes to mind. But then his fascination with Art-Nature caused an uproar when he tweaked his drawings of embryos in Haeckel envisioned familiarities across the embryos of fish, salamanders, turtles, pigs, rabbits, and humans; then he represented these in an evocative table.

The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black

At a time when photography was not practiced, data was art…and vice versa. Some still claim his drawings were legitimate, but in any case, his artistic embellishments stirred a controversy. That controversy is the same the Hudspeth delivers: The fictional Spencer Black is more corrupt than the real Ernest Haeckel, but now their books share space on my bookshelf. I recommend the hardcopy so you can use it as coffee table book. The anatomical drawings of mythological creatures will certainly entertain and inspire.

Preview his artwork at his website: View all 3 comments. May 03, Heather Faville rated it really liked it. Believing that mythological creatures are our human ancestors, Dr Black proceeds to embark on a journey of scientific discovery. A journey that seems to slowly drive him into madness and ruins any credibility he may have had within his field of study.

I will give word of warning, this section is most definitely not for someone with a weak stomach. While it is very descriptive and gruesome, I found it also very intriguing and actually wish this section was longer. The second section is The Codex Extinct Anamalia in which Dr Black documents and illustrates his findings of the lesser known species of the animal kingdom.

This section is mostly illustrations of various species muscular and skeletal structure done very similarly to Gray's Anatomy. It is well done artwork and for those with great interest in the structure and anatomy of mythological species this is a wonderfully detailed and well done section. I could even see tattoo artists using this as inspiration for pieces. Spencer Black is a very unique piece of work that would fit very well as a coffee table book in the right household. Filled with highly imaginative and detailed illustrations and a disturbing view into the psyche of what I view as a highly intelligent doctor turned mad by his obsession.

May 07, Tabitha rated it it was ok Shelves: Marvelously done anatomical drawings of creatures of myth, but a stale fictional biography. Perhaps those that enjoy fictional biographies, somber crazed scientists but in an overall droll package? I definitely prefer the autobiography approach more so than the biography. Perhaps if it had been written as such Spencer Black would have been more dynamic and gripping of a character. Of the pages, really only the first 65 of those pages are the biography. The pictures were fascinating, and even some of the details about the creatures — They were gorgeously drawn, even considering your saw the musculature of them.

Students with an Art Major I think would appreciate it.

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This was indeed the reason why I decided to read it, because I love art. Everything else in The Resurrectionist was rather stale and flat. I was expecting sensationalism, pizazz! I think there could have been more done to really connect you to Spencer Black to make the reader more interested in his life and then also his work.

I think perhaps by keeping the tone of the work so close to what perhaps the time period was, and also too closely to that of a medical or research account of things that it left me as the reader no real desire to know about him or at time to even continue reading. There were also some gruesome scenes of animal experimentation that may not suit all readers.

All opinions are completely my own. May 23, Albert rated it it was amazing. Spencer Black is a throwback to the old horror tales of Shelley, Stoker and even dare I say; Lovecraft. Yes I liked it that much. It is actually two books in one. The first book being the story of Dr. The Codex is a Gray's Anatomy tome to mythical creatures. The drawings of these creatures are detailed and fantastic. The story of Dr.

Spencer Black is something altogether The Resurrectionist: Spencer Black is something altogether different. When I was a child I hadn't the conviction against the belief in God that I have now. My father was not a religious man, however my grandparents were, and they gave me a rigorous theological education.

I was very much afraid of what we did those nights; of all the terrible sins a man might commit, stealing the dead seemed among the worst. In my childish imagination, God's wrathful arm was ever-ready and ever-present. And yet I feared my father even more than I feared my God Born the son of a respected Professor of Anatomy, Spencer and his brother Bernard would go grave robbing with their father at the young age of eleven.

As he became a young man Spencer then turned his studies to medicine and healing birth deformities. It was here, at Philadelphia's Academy of Medicine that Dr. Spencer Black would come to the theory that would change his life. The belief that birth abnormalities were in fact, the human body remembering what it once was.

That the creatures of old, myths and legends, did at one time exist and that we humans, came from this. Unable to convince the colleagues he was once esteemed by, Black turns to Carnival's and Cabinets of Curiosities to prove his theories. One visitor to his show would exclaim After only an hour, the man walked. Everyone applauded but I couldn't; how could I? I saw demon magic, on stage, everyone saw it. The devil has his own surgeon, and I saw him Stephen Black concludes in macabre and tragic fashion.