Beneath the Skin: Love Letters to the Body by Great Writers

Buried beneath layers of flesh, our hearts pump, our lungs inflate, our kidneys filter. These organs, and others, are essential to our survival but remain largely unknown to us.

In Beneath the Skin, fifteen writers each explore a different body part: Naomi Alderman unravels the intestines and our obsession with food; Thomas Lynch celebrates the womb as a miracle; AL Kennedy explores the nose’s striking ability to conjure memories; and Philip Kerr traces the remarkable history of brain surgery.

Moving, intimate and often unexpected, this is an awe-inspiring voyage through the mysterious landscape of our bodies.

The essays are by Naomi Alderman, Ned Beauman, William Fiennes, Philip Kerr, Mark Ravenhill, Annie Freud, Daljit Nagra, Christina Patterson, Chibundo Onuzo, Thomas Lynch, Patrick McGuinness, AL Kennedy, Kayo Chingonyi, Abi Curtis and Imtiaz Dharker.

Beneath the Skin is published in association with Wellcome Collection, a free museum and library that aims to challenge how we think and feel about health. Inspired by the medical objects and curiosities collected by Henry Wellcome, it connects science, medicine, life and art. Wellcome Collection exhibitions, events and books explore a diverse range of subjects, including consciousness, forensic medicine, emotions, sexology, identity and death.