CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 12/13/2016

The Anatomical Venus: Wax, God, Death & the Ecstatic is 'Strangest Book of the Year!'

"Sleeping Beauty"—a breathing waxwork modeled by Dr. Philippe Curtis in Paris, 1767—is reproduced from The Anatomical Venus: Wax, God, Death & the Ecstatic, Joanna Ebenstein's cult-favorite historical study of life-sized, reclining dissectible wax women (sometimes with fetus) originally produced to teach human anatomy in the eighteenth century. One of our Staff Favorite Stocking Stuffers of 2016, this is the book on our list that has captured the most media attention this season—called the "Strangest Book of 2016...seductive and confounding" by Publishers Weekly; "1 of 25 Amazing New Books" by Mental Floss; an "enchanting and repulsive book" by Huffington Post; and "beguiling" by Vice, to name just a few of its recent reviews.