Book Club
Current Book
Join us for a lively discussion on February 11, 2025 at 7:00 pm at Cancun Mexican Grill for a lively discussion of this month’s book “Anatomy: A Love Story” by Dana Schwartz. Books can be checked out at the library Circulation Desk, or put on hold here.
Download the eBook or audiobook on Libby here.
All are welcome! No registration required.
Discussion Questions
1. Between the dissections Hazel attends, the medicine she practices at home, and the newsy excerpts between chapters, this book features a lot of 19th century medicine, and Schwartz doesn’t hold back from writing squeamish details. Did you find this interesting or did it make you queasy, or both? What did you think of Schwartz’s world-building overall?
2. Hazel was reluctant to let go of her engagement to her cousin Bernard, because being a viscountess would guarantee her a comfortable life, even if it meant she couldn’t be a proper doctor. Did you understand her reluctance, or did you want Bernard to get stuffed? What would you have done?
3. Jack is what was known as a “resurrection man” – a fancy term for a body snatcher – who was paid by doctors to go dig up fresh graves and bring them corpses to practice medicine on. Did this affect the way that you felt about Jack?
4. What did you think of the romance between Hazel and Jack? Do you think the book’s title refers to their romance, or Hazel’s love of medicine?
5. Hazel doesn’t hesitate to hire Jack to bring her corpses, so that she could pass Dr. Beecham’s exam. If the villains of the story are stealing parts and organs from people off the street, is Hazel any more in the “right” if she is stealing corpses?
6. In the end, it’s revealed that Dr. Beecham had uncovered the secret to immortality, which gave the book a magical twist – what did you think of this turn the story took?
7. Do you think Hazel should have taken the immortality serum? If you were Hazel, would you have taken it?
8. What did you think of the ending? Do you think Jack is alive and he and Hazel will be reunited? Do you plan to read the sequel, Immortality: A Love Story?
A Love Story is a gothic tale full of mystery and romance. Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry. Jack Currer is a resurrection man who’s just trying to survive in a city where it’s too easy to die. When the two of them have a chance encounter outside the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society, Hazel thinks nothing of it at first. But after she gets kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham’s lectures for being the wrong gender, she realizes that her new acquaintance might be more helpful than she first thought. Because Hazel has made a deal with Dr. Beecham: if she can pass the medical examination on her own, Beecham will allow her to continue her medical career. Without official lessons, though, Hazel will need more than just her books-she’ll need corpses to study. Lucky that she’s made the acquaintance of someone who digs them up for a living. But Jack has his own problems: strange men have been seen skulking around cemeteries, his friends are disappearing off the streets, and the dreaded Roman Fever, which wiped out thousands a few years ago, is back with a vengeance. Nobody important cares-until Hazel. Now, Hazel and Jack must work together to uncover the secrets buried not just in unmarked graves, but in the very heart of Edinburgh society.
No registration required.
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