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Back The Art of Dying Save as PDF
Chapters (90)
  1. PROLOGUE
  2. 1849
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. EDINBURGH
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY
  54. FIFTY-ONE
  55. FIFTY-TWO
  56. FIFTY-THREE
  57. FIFTY-FOUR
  58. FIFTY-FIVE
  59. FIFTY-SIX
  60. FIFTY-SEVEN
  61. FIFTY-EIGHT
  62. FIFTY-NINE
  63. SIXTY
  64. SIXTY-ONE
  65. SIXTY-TWO
  66. SIXTY-THREE
  67. SIXTY-FOUR
  68. SIXTY-FIVE
  69. SIXTY-SIX
  70. SIXTY-SEVEN
  71. SIXTY-EIGHT
  72. SIXTY-NINE
  73. SEVENTY
  74. SEVENTY-ONE
  75. SEVENTY-TWO
  76. SEVENTY-THREE
  77. SEVENTY-FOUR
  78. SEVENTY-FIVE
  79. SEVENTY-SIX
  80. SEVENTY-SEVEN
  81. SEVENTY-EIGHT
  82. SEVENTY-NINE
  83. EIGHTY
  84. EIGHTY-ONE
  85. EPILOGUE
  86. HISTORICAL NOTE
  87. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  88. Extract from A Corruption of Blood
  89. 1850
  90. ONE

Raven decided not to pursue this, although he sensed that there was more to be said. He would find out soon enough, no doubt.

‘And Sarah,’ Raven continued, swallowing to clear his throat. ‘I understand that she has married.’

‘Yes,’ said Mrs Simpson. ‘To a doctor, would you believe.’

‘A doctor?’

Raven struggled to keep the incredulity from his voice.

‘Yes. Dr Archibald Banks. A truly charming man. From a very good family.’

Raven did not know how to respond. His recently consumed dinner suddenly felt heavy in his stomach. How could she have married a doctor? Given his own history with Sarah this added a new and perplexing dimension to the whole thing. He noticed Dr Simpson was still frowning, his mind on undisclosed matters.

‘They have taken some rooms on Albany Street,’ Mrs Simpson continued. ‘They wanted to remain close by.’

‘Sarah is indispensable,’ Dr Simpson said, brightening a little. ‘She has become quite skilful in administering chloroform.’

Presumably with a handkerchief, thought Raven.

At that moment there was the sound of running feet and the dining-room door burst open. Jarvis entered looking as rattled as Raven had ever seen him.

‘Come down, Dr Simpson. For God’s sake, come down. I think I’ve killed the cook.’

TEN

logo missing am the equal of any man, as you will come to know, though it took me a long time to understand the truth of this. For there were those who drove it into me that I was a lesser being. Who beat it into me that I was worthless.

Worth less.

My mother seldom had time or money, but my most treasured memory is of her taking me to the theatre when I was a child. It was a realm of artifice and illusion, a respite from reality. Perhaps that is why, when I look back upon certain times in my life, it is as though I remember watching those events played out upon the stage, rather than happening to me. It appears my mind will not permit me to recreate the view from behind my own eyes, and instead places me without, watching: sometimes staring up from the stalls, other times gazing down from the grand circle.

Look, there I am now, see? Emerging between the painted flats. Emerging from the interstices between what everyone else notices.

The set is small, requiring only a fraction of the stage to recreate the cramped room in Cumberland Street in the Gorbals, where Murdo MacDonald and his family lived in a tenement single-end.