'A brilliant, funny and thought-provoking book' - Jonn Elledge 'Compelling, provocative, and utterly brilliant' - Dr Estelle Paranque THIS PAPERBACK FEATURES ADDITIONAL MATERIAL ON HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II How the monarchs of England and Scotland met their deaths has been a wonderful mixture of violence, infections, overindulgence and occasional regicide. In Mortal Monarchs, medical historian Dr Suzie Edge examines 1,000 years of royal deaths to uncover the plots, accusations, rivalries, and ever-present threat of poison that the kings and queens of old faced. From the "bloody" fascinating story behind Oliver Cromwell's demise and the subsequent treatment of his corpse and whether the arrow William II caught in the chest was an accident or murder, to Henry IV's remarkable skin condition and the red-hot poker up Edward II's rear end, Mortal Monarchs captivates, grosses-out and informs. In school many of us learned the dates they died and who followed them, but sadly never heard the varied - and oft-gruesome - way our monarchs met their maker. Featuring original medical research, this history forms a rich record not just of how these people died, but how we thought about and treated the human body, in life and in death.

From Napoleon's penis to Van Gogh's ear, from Marie Antoinette's teeth to Marie Curie's bone marrow, this book brings together the remarkable stories of body parts that have made history. We have always used and abused bodies. We've torn them apart, dug them up, experimented on them or taken bits home to display as trophies. Body parts have been used for propaganda in wars and pulled off in punishment. They've answered medical mysteries, been turned into relics and even saved lives. Now TikTok sensation and medical historian, Dr Suzie Edge, brings us a history of the world's most famous body parts told through its most notable limbs, organs, and appendages, including how Queen Victoria's armpit led the development of antiseptics; why Percy Shelley's heart refused to burn; and the strange case of Hitler's right testicle.