One of my favourite stories is that of the serial killers Burke and Hare. Recently, I’ve become fascinated by one of the characters who is often relegated to a supporting role –
Doctor Robert Knox. In the constraints of a ten-minute slot during a tour, the focus is on describing the two main characters and the horror of the murders. The “infamous pair” are very much the stars of the show. When you take a closer look at Knox however, you discover a complex and intriguing character.
When we meet Knox in the 1820s, he is a man at the top of his game - one of the foremost surgeons in Scotland, at a time when Edinburgh was leading the world in the field of medical science. He must have been a striking figure – he had one eye, leading the students to nickname him “auld Cyclops”. He liked to dress in fine clothes, and always put on a show for his students – his lectures were thoroughly entertaining. This inspired a fierce loyalty and devotion among his students. He must have been the sort of person whom everyone noticed when he walked into a room - larger than life, with a reputation preceding him.
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the story is: How much did Knox actually know?
In my opinion, a man of his intelligence must have sensed that Burke and Hare were not your average body snatchers. He must have suspected foul play. But for a man of his ego, at the forefront of his field, the ends absolutely justified the means. I see Knox as the classic mad scientist, never stopping to ask if he should, only concerned with whether he could.
Yet perhaps in some small way he was right – in hospitals and doctors’ surgeries all over the world today, we reap the benefits of that age of discovery, and the lengths people like Knox were prepared to go to.
In a city full of Jekyll and Hyde characters, Knox looms large as a visionary scientist and accessory to mass murder, charismatic and enigmatic in equal measure.
Mark, gore-enthusiast and guide.