Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius by Colin Dickey

Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius Reviews

• 
  Hannah Greendale

  Cranioklepty explores the once-popular act of stealing skulls and the birth of cranioscopy, invented by Franz Joseph Gall and later referred to as phrenology. Gall believed that by reading the bumps and indentations on the skull, one could interpret the workings of the brain.
  
  In many ways [phrenology] was a new science for a new time - it boldly claimed to lay bare centuries-old mysteries through a cursory touch of the scalp, making visible what had long been hidden.
  
  The rising popularity of phrenology arguably spawned the emergence of cranioklepty, a term coined by the author which translates to skull-stealing.
  
  This book provides a well-researched and intriguing examination of skulls that were stolen from the exhumed bodies of famous people such as Mozart and Beethoven, actress Elizabeth ("Betty") Roose, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (author of the wildly popular and controversial book,
  The Sorrows of Young Werther).
  
  Popular phrenologists are also highlighted, such as brothers Orson and Lorenzo Fowler and German physician Johann Spurzheim. Equal attention is given to the cranioklepts themselves: men like Joseph Carl Rosenbaum, who hired a resurrectionist to steal the head of celebrated composer Joseph Haydn. These passages include delightfully gruesome descriptions of decayed corpses, flesh being pulled back from bones, liquefied brains, and skulls soaking in limewater.
  
  Motivated by curiosity, by money, by a morbid fascination that seems inexplicable today, cranioklepts subtly and stealthily helped to change how we view the grave and the corpse, and how we view great artists and thinkers who come to define and age.
  
  Several of the stolen skulls were shuffled around the world as they changed hands over the course of centuries. Others were kept hidden in private collections. Some made their way back to the remains from which they came, and some - thanks to DNA testing - proved to belong to someone else, leaving readers and cranioklepts to wonder where the original skulls remain hidden.
  
  It's unclear whether the true skull will ever surface from that dark necropolis of skulduggery and resurrectionists that swallowed it so long ago.
  Some skulls, it seems, will always hold their secrets.
• 
  Nikki in Niagara

  Reason for Reading: I read a lot of fiction and non-fiction taking place during Victorian times and was interested in what this book had to offer from that time period especially on the topic of Phrenology. I also simply have a taste for the morbid.
  
  Cranioklepty concentrates on man's fascination with human skulls and what they can tell us about the criminal, insane and especially the genius. The book covers the time period from 1790 through the early 1900s though the lasting effects take us right through the 20th century up to a 2009 law suit. Cranioklepty concentrates on the post death lives of famous people, especially Joseph Haydn, Thomas Browne, Mozart, and Beethoven. Each of these individuals had their head stolen from the grave, used for scientific purposes, traveled the world, or went missing for a time as they were hidden away by collectors.
  
  The book tells a fascinating chronology from the scientific point of view as Phrenology first appeared on the scene as the New Science. This "science" was able to prove the intellect of individuals but it always had its detractors. As science disproved Phrenology and it became a parlour game, science moved onto craniology which at that time was concerned with the size of the skull and the brain cavity to prove a person's intellect.
  
  A fascinating study of the people involved scientifically and those who collected skulls, as well as the stories of the stolen skulls as their journey lasted sometimes over a hundred years, amusing anecdotes (one including an ancestor of the Presidents Bush) and descriptions of preparing a head for examination of its skull (that are not for the weak of stomach) make for a bizarre yet dramatic read.
• 
  Nancy

  Grave robbing and the stealing of skulls were common in the nineteenth century. Fueled by the “sciences” of Phrenology and Craniometry, scientists, doctors, fortunes seekers, and idolizers sought to own, display, and study the skulls of the famous, in part to answer the question, “Can genius be quantified?” Dickey tells the stories of the skulls of Haydn, Beethoven, Thomas Browne and others against the backdrop of revolutionary advances in scientific and medical knowledge. What might seem macabre today appears more reasonable in the context of the times.
• 
  Heather

  nothing like a little morbid summer reading. quick read, lots of fun little tidbits, but overall had a bit of a disorganized feel.
• 
  Cheryl Klein

  People use the phrase "dead and buried" to imply just how very over and complete a thing is. This true tale of famous composers, writers and mystics whose heads were stolen by phrenologists and their contemporaries proves that no person or subject is guaranteed eternal rest. As the poor skulls of Joseph Haydn and Emanuel Swedenborg bounce between various collectors and pseudo-scientists, Dickey paints a portrait of a unique period in history, when Enlightenment reason overlapped with relic-worship, artistic flourishings and eugenics. They were the scariest of times. They were the wackiest of times.
  
  But unlike other "thing histories" that claim to explain the entire history of the world through, like, potatoes, Dickey doesn't try too hard to extrapolate. After all, he's telling the stories of people who thought they could determine the cause of genius by rubbing a person's head. I suspect he doesn't want to be the writerly version of a phrenologist. Instead, he does what writers do best: weave intriguing narratives, juxtapose facts and let people draw their own conclusions. One of mine was that I would like to be cremated, thank you very much.
• 
  Kathy

  Do skulls exhibit symptoms of genius? That's why the heads of Haydn, Swedenborg, and some others were separated from the rest of their skeletons. Dickey follows the merry chase and eventual (usually, that is) reunion of the bones, with informative sidebars on the people and the science and pseudoscience that sought crania and of course those whose skulls were so eagerly sought -- and bought.
  
  Although I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I must admit it was much like narrative reporting rather than any groundbreaking examination of either "grave robbing" or "the search for genius."
  
  It's an interesting but no doubt insignificant coincidence that I was reading Reichs' "Bones" novels as I was also reading Cranioklepty.
• 
  R-M

  Fascinating read for a macabre anthro major such as myself. The only negative is that the modern history of skull robbing was rather limited -- based on the book jacket I was hoping for more on the Skull and Bones at Yale. Given the detail and meticulous research for the first 85% of the book, I would have loved more "meat" in the last 15%. Overall, it was fascinating, engaging, and well written. For those who enjoy learning more about such topics, I highly recommend.
• 
  Bridget

  I never really thought much about the skulls of people who were incredibly smart but after reading this book, I must admit that I find the subject intriguing. I'm not saying I'm going to go searching for some skulls to keep in my basement, but I enjoyed reading Colin's book. It's informative and well written. A great Halloween read!
• 
  Madelyne

  Finally! It seems ages ago (by the by it was) that I started reading this. Cranioklepty is far off the beaten path of books I would usually choose to entertain my mind, buy why not try something different I thought when I picked it from the batch of Early Reviewers.
  
  The book had a strong beginning and I learned many interesting facts I enjoyed sharing with friends and family. Toward the middle of the book I felt I had no choice, but to find another book to read. It lacked the intrigue the beginning had. Only recently did I tell myself, “You must finish this book!” I picked it up and began to blaze through it. Thank goodness the pace picked up.
  
  Mr. Dickey did a wondrous amount of research and a good job connecting different bits of history. I was thrilled with two instances particularly that occurred while reading his book. For one, my place of work owns a replica bust of L.N. Fowler’s Phrenology chart (discussed in the book). Second when the author tells the story of the Piltdown skull, it rang a bell in my memory. I quickly went home and asked my mom, “Didn’t you have me read an article in school about the Piltdown skull?” She didn’t remember for sure, but I locked through the files and found that yes I had. I was ready to get out my fighting words ready to disprove the author. However, the next chapter put him back on the same page as me . . . that the whole Piltdown affair was a hoax. Anyway I love these types of connections that flow over to everyday life.
  
  The book was overall a good read and a must for history buffs interested in cranioklepty. It was sad read the measures people went to, for essentially just a skull. The way they idolized the skulls causes one to wonder what the people themselves would think if they were still alive.
• 
  Nida

  First things first, despite the fact that this book is about stolen skulls, I greatly enjoyed reading it and absorbing all this morbid information about musical and medical geniuses, told in such humorous and entertaining prose. Despite the vast cast of people whose tales are related intimately, Colin Dickey's voice and unique manner of writing still shines through. I now know more about Joseph Hayden, Joseph Carl Rosenbaum, Sir Thomas Browne, Beethoven, Rokitensky, Mozart and Louis Pierre Gratiolet than I would have cared to know just a few months ago. But more than anything, this book is about the evolution of the science and study of the concious, in the universally revolutionary 19th century. How we perceive the norms of society, and how this changes over time is related through four or five well researched anecdotes.
  
  But there are some things in this book that were far more relevant to me personally. For example, here is a quote from the book that I particularly like, from a passage about Sir Thomas Browne:
  
  "...There had been no contradiction between a man of science and a man of religion. They provided different means to the same goal: understanding the works of God."
  
  Those two sentences summarise the majority of my beliefs quite eloquently. But you, my dear reader, are welcome to disagree with me, I'm not here to force my opinions/beliefs on anyone.
• 
  Megan Hex

  Enjoyable book full of great grim anecdotes (I think the tale of Haydn's head and its idealistic thieves is my favorite), though the description misses a step: the book also serves as sort of a history of phrenology, which was the inspiration behind these 19th-century graverobbings. I hadn't realized phrenology had laid down such deep-seated and still-believed racist notions, which was a more disturbing side to the book than the actual graverobbings.
• 
  Turi Becker

  An interesting look at the history of grave robbing - specifically, the looting of famous people's skulls. Covers phrenology, hero worship, forensic method - and the skulls of Mozart, Haydn, Swedenborg and many others.
• 
  Elizabeth Judd Taylor

  A very interesting, and yes, slightly morbid, book. It's not just about grave robbing (and specifically skull robbing)--it's also the story of some rather dubious schools of "science" that were popular in the 19th century (and which have sadly left a legacy that lasts into the present time).
• 
  Alan Lestini

  this is right up my alley --- phrenology, skull duggery, and all that lot!
  Reminds me of my Death & Dying class I took in college...
• 
  Gina

  The hundreds of footnotes were terribly distracting.
• 
  Kelly

  Marzipan would have been the singular reason for my picking up of this book from the shelves. But it seems I have yet a ways to go before quitting my fascination with death and her history.
• 
  Kat

  Cheryl and I are swapping book lists.
• 
  Kelly W.

  I picked up this book because I loved Dickey’s Ghostland, and grave robbing seems to be on brand for the type of topics I’m interested in learning more about (especially since I’m a medievalist and have to think about relics and the peddling of fake body parts). In may respects, I learned quite a lot from Cranioklepty; I have almost no background in 18-19th century history, so getting a feel for what the cultural landscape was like at the time and how philosophical and scientific research intersected (or didn’t) was quite fascinating. I also really liked that this book narrated the personal histories of some of the “characters” it discussed, making them feel more real and human and not just idols that get reduced to the status of “thing” at their death. The easily-accessible prose style moreover helps with making sense of Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment writers whose own work is intimidating, and though keeping track of names got a bit much at time, I felt that Dickey did his best with the staggering amount of information he had accumulated.
  
  I do wish more pressure was put on Dickey’s main argument, however, rather than the extended narratives of history that we got for most of the book. Dickey contends that cranioklepty was itself motivated by the changing landscapes within science and philosophy (especially phrenology) which treated the head as the source of human intellect/consciousness/etc. As a result, they fundamentally changed the way people viewed the body and the concept of “genius.” I honestly think that argument is compelling, though I wish more was done throughout the book to reinforce those links. I got lost in the narrativization of history and wished Dickey had either done more sign-posting or inserted more of his own commentary on historical events to help remind the reader how each piece of evidence he offers relates back to his larger point.
  
  I’m also a little surprised that more time wasn’t devoted to distinguishing cranioklepty as influenced by the rise in phrenology from the greater “resurrectionist” backdrop more generally. Resurrectionism only gets a few mentions here and there, and I think Dickey’s argument could have been more compelling if more was done to show the impact phrenology made on an already growing “industry” of grave robbing for medical research, or if he did more work to show how the two were intimately related.
  
  Also, as a literary scholar, I think there was a lot of room to expand Dickey’s analysis with regards to the word “relic.” “Relic” appears several times in contemporary accounts to describe the bones of famous “geniuses,” and I think the religious undertones and rhetorical function of such language could have been analyzed to help Dickey’s argument. For example, if people saw the bones of geniuses as “relics,” how might the theft of them compare to the buying and selling of relics before the 19th century? What might such veneration tell us about the status of “genius?” What motivation might pro- or anti-phrenologist writers have for using the term “relic” to describe parts of the deceased’s body? Are there patterns in who uses the term “relic?”
  
  Overall, however, I learned quite a lot and had much to think about.
  
  Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in grave robbing, theft, history of science and medicine (including pseudo-science), and classical music history (especially pertaining to Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart).
• 
  Translator Monkey

  Fascinating book. I often heard of heads stolen from the corpses of talented artists (especially composers), but rarely was given a look at the story behind the thievery. Assuming it's a weird hobby is incorrect; assuming it's a past-time to FEED a weird hobby (phrenology) would be spot on. Lots of interesting details on the processes involved, from planning to execution and evading the law, who looked down on this sort of thing.
• 
  kit

  my least favourite colin dickey by a MILE. the subject matter should have grabbed me, but it didn't; none of the insights about racist quack science phrenology were new to me. in fact, this book was far, far less the insightful wit i love in dickey's books, and more so him quoting others with little original voice to be found. 💀 🧠
• 
  Jamie K

  A fun and informative look at a weird little bit of history. Having read Colin Dickey's more recent works, I think my expectations were a little high going into this earlier one, but it was still a good read.
• 
  Colleen

  interesting. Covers the history of phrenology and of a few different instances of skull theft. Focused mainly on the Viennese composers
• 
  Sesana

  Fascinating and only slightly grotesque.
• 
  Kat

  Fascinating and meticulously researched.
• 
  Ints

  Šo grāmatu iepirku, jo cilvēki atsaucēs nebija skopojušies ar labiem vārdiem. Domāju, cilvēki jau zina, ko runā, un grāmatu nopirku. Galu galā kapu izlaupīšanas tēma mani vienmēr ir interesējusi. Šajā grāmatā cerēju atrast daudzus gadījumus iz dzīves, iespējams, pat ar vaininieku motivācijas analīzi (ķirurgiem pētniecībai, vienkārša kapu aplaupīšana, dīvainas sektas utml.) plašā ģeogrāfijā. Realitāte bija nedaudz savādāka.
  
  Grāmata ir veltīta pāris galvaskausiem frenoloģijas kontekstā. Sākums ir visai daudzsološs, Haidna pārapbedīšanas procesā atklājās, ka mironim diemžēl kaut kur ir noklīdusi galva. Tika veikta neliela izmeklēšana, laupītājs galvaskausa esamību savā īpašumā nemaz nebija pārāk slēpis un beigu beigās kaut kādu galvaskausu arī atgrieza. Haidna galvaskausu savā īpašumā bija ieguvis kāds Rozenbaums, kas piekukuļoja kapsētas sargu un ieguva savā īpašumā ģēnija galvaskausu. Kad sāka meklēt vainīgos, visa vaina tika nogrūsta uz mirušu kolēģi un galvaskauss tika atdots atpakaļ. Tas gan izrādījās neīstais, jo Rozenbaumam gribējās vēl nedaudz viņu papētīt, bet to atklāja tikai pēc kāda laika, kad galvaskausa īstuma problēma nevienu vairs pārāk nesatrauca.
  
  Visam pie vainas izrādījās pseidozinātne, kas savu uzplaukumu piedzīvoja astoņpadsmitajā un deviņpadsmitajā gadsimtā, frenoloģija. Jeb cilvēku valodā, mācība par to, kā pēc galvaskausa formas noteikt cilvēka ģenialitāti un raksturu. Jo galu galā smadzenes ir orgāns, kurā atrodas prāts. Šīs dižās idejas autors bija Franz Joseph Gall. Šī pseidozinātne nav pazudusi arī šodien un neizslēdzu, ka kāds tās dēļ joprojām izlaupa kapus.
  
  Kādreiz, ja biji slavens, izcils sabiedrības loceklis, ģēnijs, tad tev bija pamats raizēties par saviem pīšļiem pēc nāves. Kāds obligāti mēģinās nospert tavu galvu, lai pievienotu savai kolekcijai un vaļas brīžos mēģinātu noskaidrot tavas ģenialitātes iemeslus, mērot tavu galvaskausu ar dīvainiem cirkuļiem. Grāmata pamatā koncentrējas tikai uz Vīni un tās mūziķu galvaskausiem. Centrā ir Haidns un Bēthovens, nedaudz nomalē Mocarts un vēl pāris mūsdienās ne pārāk pazīstami intelektuāļi.
  
  Bēthovenam gan galvaskauss nosperts netika, par to parūpējās viņa draugi, pārklājot viņa zārku ar ķieģeļu kārtu, lai kapu izlaupītājam būtu grūtāk tikt klāt viņa galvai. Nekas, toties bēru ceremonijā no viņa galvas piemiņai tika ņemtas tik daudz matu cirtas,ka apbedīja viņu jau praktiski bez matiem. Vēlāk gan slaveno komponistu pārapbedot atklājās, ka ķirurgs, kas veica viņa pēcnāves sekciju, daļu galvaskausa tomēr bija pamanījies pievākt turpmākai izpētei.
  
  Mocarts, kuru epidēmijas laikā apglabāja masu kapos un kura kaklam pirms iemešanas bedrē uzņēmīgs kapracis aplika dzelzs drāti, lai vēlāk spētu identificēt pareizo galvu, kuru pārdot interesentiem arī nepalika neizrakts. Diemžēl izraka tikai viņa galvaskausu, pats ķermenis nebija pieprasīts, tā nu nabagam galvaskauss stāv muzejā, jo nevienam nav ne jausmas, kur palicis pārējais skelets. Kas interesanti, slavenību galvaskausus neviens īpaši nesteidzas atdot atpakaļ zemei, bet labprāt ieliek kādā stikla kupolā un izstāda apmeklētājiem. To pašu var teikt arī par smadzenēm, gandrīz katrā sevi cienošā muzejā var atrast pa kādai ģēnija smadzenei formalīna burkā.
  
  Autors sīki un smalki apraksta galvaskausu īpašnieku biogrāfijas, motivāciju un iespējamos secinājumus, tomēr pasniegšanas veids tikai vietumis bija man interesants. Ja pavisam godīgi grāmata manas cerības neattaisnoja, lasīju ar “gariem zobiem”, pabeidzu tikai principa pēc. Savukārt, ja esi Haidna vai Bēthovena fans, tad iespējams šis tev varētu šķist “makten aizraujošs gabals”. Kopumā grāmatai lieku 7 no 10 ballēm. Par pieviltajām cerībām.
• 
  Buck Wilde

  You know that Mario Party minigame where you all have bags on your back, and you run around the arena stealing coins from the other players' bags until the clock runs out?
  
  That's this book. The arena is Europe, the other players are white scientists with a deep and misplaced faith in phrenology, the coins are the skulls of dead writers and composers, and the clock is the 1800s.
  
  This book was dryish due to the narrowness of its subject matter, but as far as demonstrating the lengths scientists will go to defend flagrantly wrong hypotheses if they have vested political interest in them, it's unmatched. The reason skulls were in such high demand was, initially, because phrenology was the Hot 'n' Ready up and coming science, masterminded by a human calamity named Gall who had a habit of inviting his friends over to smell rotting corpses in his parlor for hours at a time while he poked at them with scalpels. Gall was going strong even after Mark Twain shut him the fuck down. He showed up as a stranger and Gall gave him the head-grope and assessed him as "eh, pretty funny, but also real cautious which counteracts the comedy" and then later came back and said "Hey dogg, I'm Mark Twain. Check it." and Gall gave him a second head-groping and said "WOW your humor lump is SO BIG mark twain CLEARLY you are blessed and supported by my hypothesis".
  
  You'd think this would have demonstrated to everyone that head groping was a parlor trick on par with palmistry, but you know how people are.
  
  After that, all the terribly, terribly white scientists rallied around some erroneous publications that indicated a) European braincases were larger than Indian, and much larger than African and b) size of braincase is a direct indicator of intelligence. These studies were accomplished by a dude who did not control for sex or absolute body size, and they were absolutely eaten up by Europe's intellectual elite, who all needed to have their own skull collection thereafter. Go figure.
  
  Toward the dawn of the 1900s, there was a great intellectual awakening that seemed largely tied to how small Descartes' head was (the metric was nebulous; they filled skulls with mustard seed to figure out their volume. It became more precise when they switched to lead shot.) Everyone agreed "Welp, looks like we're dicks", and phrenology was abandoned. Total brain size as an intelligence indicator would stick around for a while longer, but it only continues to this day for the tremendously stupid.
  
  
  
• 
  Mike Caulfield

  I might even be being a bit stingy with the stars here. For me, the most fascinating pieces were not about the grave robbing, but about the development of phrenology as a science. Had no idea how big everyone from George Eliot to Wallie Whitman were on it, and was equally surprised that Phrenology version 1.0 was a pretty bold materialist statement -- at its core was the idea that the personality was a result of measurable differences in brain physiology and that brain function was localized, with different part of the brain being responsible for different aspects of personality and intellect.
  
  Both those things are true of course. As time goes on, however, the quacks come in. It goes from a flawed attempt to explain something about human nature in general to personal "readings" on the one hand and the ridiculously loaded rascist craniometry endeavor on the other. In other words, it looks a lot like the progression of neuroscience and CAT scans today...
• 
  Margaret Sankey

  With the coming of romanticism and phrenology, 19th century weirdos found a new hobby--collecting the heads of the famous and noteworthy. Previously, cabinets of curiosity contained taxidermied colonial people, or two-headed cows, but devotees of Gull and Goethe now felt compelled to grave-rob Hadyn, Beethoven, Swedenborg, Sir Thomas Browne, Geronimo....and study and display their heads. Dickey examines these phenomena in the context of their times, as well as chronicles the unbelievable conspiracies and idiotic plans that led to the theft in the first place. As a rule, decapitating a corpse is going to be a lot more difficult and a lot messier than the average 19th century romantic college student ever thinks.
• 
  Annette Boehm

  I picked this up on a whim, -- the cover art is intriguing, as is the title -- and I was not disappointed. This is a very accessible, fun-to-read nonfiction book that takes you through the history of phrenology without becoming boring. Along the way, you'll run into Haydn, Beethoven, Walt Whitman, George Eliot, Mark Twain, Napoleon Bonaparte, and another handful of interesting and somewhat familiar historical figures. I really enjoyed this. As usual, I have a more in-depth review of the book on my blog, so if you want to know more before you invest in it, take a look here:
  http://outsideofacat.wordpress.com/20...
• 
  Monika Phelps

  I thought that this book was interesting but under delivered what it promised. There was plenty of historical information and a great deal of research that went into this, but I think that's what it was more than anything - a research project. You will learn a lot about the history of some of your favorite classical musicians. There were long tellings about specific stories that didn't really pertain to the subject of the book, which overall made me long for a book that actually focuses on grave robbing....