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  • Article

The island of unclaimed bodies

In New York, those who live and die on the extreme edges of society are buried on an isolated island, often forgotten and unmourned. But recent legal changes aim to reduce stigma and restore their dignity.

  • Article

The problem of the punctured heart

During World War II a young American surgeon working in England perfected shrapnel-removal techniques that saved dozens of lives. Discover how one case sealed his reputation as the founder of cardiac surgery.

  • Article

The solidarity of sickness

Visiting an injured friend in hospital prompts writer Sinéad Gleeson to reflect on the instant rapport forged between compatriots in the kingdom of the sick.

  • Article

The hidden history of homesickness

Gail Tolley delves into the history of homesickness and discovers that its rich past holds a clue to how we view the experience today.

All stories (21)

Images

  • Juliet, kneeling between the bodies of Romeo and Paris in the burial crypt of the Capulets, is about to stab herself in the chest with a dagger while a group of torch-carrying soldiers arrives in the background. Etching.
  • A grieving young widow breastfeeds her infant child next to the dead body of its father, a soldier. Aquatint with engraving after H. Bunbury, 1783.
  • Boer War: soldiers placing stones over the graves of their comrades on the Modder River. Halftone, c. 1899, after W. W. Russell after A. C. Girdwood.
  • Boer War: the grave of those killed at Bronkhuis Spruit, with men standing round. Line engraving, c. 1901.
  • Boer War: the grave of men of the Naval Brigade who were killed in the battle of Graspan. Halftone, c. 1899, after H. E. Miles.
  • Boer War: five graves of officers killed during the siege of Mafeking (Mahikeng). Halftone, c. 1900.
  • Boer War: rows of graves of enteric patients at Intombi, Ladysmith. Halftone, c. 1900, after a photograph.
  • Goliath, covered in splendid armour, towers over the humble David. Engraving.
  • After the defeat of the White Army, a new white peril threatens Russia in the form of the typhus louse, against which the Red soldiers fight by washing themselves and their clothes vigorously. Colour lithograph, ca. 1921.
  • Saint Napoleon. Coloured lithograph (?), 1843.
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All works (5)