Read every series in the right order
The Anatomy Books in Chronological Order – Complete Reading Guide
Table of Contents
Quick Answer (TL;DR)
Read the duology exactly as published:
- Anatomy: A Love Story → 2) Immortality: A Love Story
That’s the complete arc for aspiring surgeon Hazel Sinnett and resurrection man Jack Currer, moving from graveyards and lecture halls in Edinburgh to the velvet-and-venom corridors of London court life.
Introduction
There’s “historical YA,” and then there’s a candlelit lab table covered with scalpels, secrets, and a heart beating under the prose. Dana Schwartz’s Anatomy duology is firmly the second kind—gothic romance braided with medical ambition, social critique, and a mystery that keeps tightening its stitches.
Book one throws us into 1817-ish Edinburgh, where Hazel Sinnett—a lady of rank—wants surgery more than society. Book two pulls us to Regency-era London, where the price of saving lives may be your own. What elevates these books (beyond the compulsively readable chapters) is the way Schwartz turns anatomy into metaphor: bodies are maps; love and ethics are the scalpel work; and power decides who gets to touch either.
If you’re here for The Anatomy Books in Chronological Order, you’ll find a clean reading plan, spoiler-light blurbs, and format guidance for Kindle, paperback, hardcover, and audio. If you’re here for vibes: think heathered hills, cold chapels, back-alley deals, and a heroine who refuses to accept the rules of her century—no matter who is writing them.
Quick Facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Series | The Anatomy Duology (2 books) |
| Best Order | Anatomy: A Love Story → Immortality: A Love Story |
| Setting & Tone | Early-19th-century Scotland & England; gothic, romantic, mystery-driven; light speculative thread |
| Pages (series total) | ~700–780 pages combined (varies by edition) |
| Estimated Read Time | ~16–22 hours for both books at average pace; audiobooks add performance texture |
| Reading Difficulty | Moderate (historical terms, medical detail); emotionally intense in places |
| Genre | YA historical gothic romance / mystery |
| Content Warnings | Grave-robbing/body procurement, surgical detail, illness (Roman Fever), classism/sexism, violence/coercion, grief and loss |
| Media Adaptations | None announced for this duology |
| Ideal Age Range | 14+ (YA readers; adults who enjoy romantasy-adjacent historicals) |
About The Anatomy Book Series
What it is: A two-novel, tightly linked arc that begins in the anatomy theaters and kirkyards of Edinburgh (Book 1) and crescendos in London amid princesses, secret societies, and whispered theories of immortality (Book 2).
What it feels like: Mary Shelley brushed with Sarah Waters—romance with a bone saw. You’ll get banter, yearning, and the “we probably shouldn’t be here” tension, but also ethical questions about who gets access to care and who gets used in its pursuit.
How it reads: Fast. Schwartz’s chapters are engineered for momentum, with precise period detail and just enough medical specificity to feel authentic without slowing the mystery.
The Anatomy Books at a Glance
| # | Title | Amazon Buy Links |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anatomy: A Love Story | Buy On Amazon |
| 2 | Immortality: A Love Story | Buy On Amazon |
*Your regional pricing may vary or be on promotion.
The Anatomy Books in Chronological Order
1) Anatomy: A Love Story — a lady, a lancet, and a ledger of the dead
Premise & mood (spoiler-light):
Edinburgh, post-Roman Fever. Hazel Sinnett wants to study medicine, but the Edinburgh Anatomists’ Society—and society-society—say no. After she’s booted from Dr. Beecham’s lectures for being the wrong gender, Hazel makes a dangerous bargain: pass the exam on her own and earn a path forward. To learn without legal cadavers, she needs help from the city’s shadows: Jack Currer, a clever, street-sharp resurrection man. Meanwhile, bodies go missing, men in the fog stalk graveyards, and whispers of something unnatural ride the chill.
What sings:
- Hazel’s drive. The book’s heartbeat is her refusal—gentle when needed, surgical when required—to accept a world that cages her.
- Jack’s resourcefulness. He’s not a device; he’s a life, complicated by hunger, loyalty, and his own moral calculus.
- The gothic: damp stone, midnight work, delicate auras of the uncanny without tipping into full fantasy for long stretches.
Why read it: You’ll get courtship threaded through investigation; kisses edged with questions of ethics; and a heroine who treats anatomy as both craft and metaphor—learning what a heart is, and what hers wants.
Who might want to skip: Readers sensitive to grave-robbing, surgical detail, or illness on the page.
Ratings snapshot you shared: Amazon 4.2/5 (6,696); Goodreads 3.8/5 (106,458).
2) Immortality: A Love Story — a prison door opens into a palace
Premise & mood (spoiler-light):
After the aftermath, Hazel keeps working—treating patients, minding crumbling Hawthornden Castle, and trying not to wonder if Jack is alive. One urgent save lands her in prison; an unexpected missive pulls her out with a singular assignment: become personal physician to Princess Charlotte, fragile granddaughter of King George III. London dazzles, courts glitter, and a secret circle—the Companions to the Death—offers knowledge and power Hazel cannot ignore. Immortality ceases to be theory and becomes temptation.
What sings:
- The pivot from graveyard to ballroom doesn’t dilute the stakes—it magnifies them. Power corrupts in powdered wigs, too.
- The central mystery clicks into place with satisfying reveals and a what-would-you-do ethical core.
- Hazel’s arc becomes less about proving and more about choosing: patient, prince, principle, or price?
Why read it: You get a full-bodied sequel that respects what book one built, while asking braver questions about life at any cost.
Who might want to skip: Those who prefer strictly realistic medical history—this book leans a little further into the speculative than book one.
Ratings snapshot you shared: Amazon 4.3/5 (1,958); Goodreads 3.9/5 (36,877).
Series Timeline & Character Development
Hazel Sinnett — aspiring surgeon → principled physician
- Anatomy: Ambition framed as survival. Hazel learns, cuts, fails, repeats. Her defiance is not loud; it’s precise.
- Immortality: Ambition reframed as stewardship. She must decide whose life gets saved when not everyone can be saved, and what compromises poison the craft she loves.
Jack Currer — clever scavenger → contested future
- Anatomy: Jack navigates scarcity with wit and risk, carving out a pocket of dignity in a city that prices him in shillings and secrets.
- Immortality: Jack becomes the question: of love, of science, of the self. Some doors open toward him; others close on Hazel.
Institutions — from gatekeeping to gilded traps
- Anatomy: Edinburgh’s medical world is both holy ambition and ugly exclusion.
- Immortality: London’s court proves that velvet can smother just as thoroughly as chains.
Themes that echo across both books
- Access: Who gets to touch knowledge? At what price?
- Consent: Of bodies, of futures, of medical experimentation.
- Love as ethic: Not just romance, but what obligations you owe to people when you can finally do what you dreamed.
Novels Sorted by In-Universe Events
- Anatomy: A Love Story
- Immortality: A Love Story
(Story chronology is the same as publication order.)
Novels Sorted by Publication
- Anatomy: A Love Story
- Immortality: A Love Story
Companion Works
Not required, but great enrichers if you fall hard for the duology’s mix of medicine, monarchy, and mystery:
- Noble Blood (podcast by Dana Schwartz): crisp, witty dives into royal histories—perfect palate cleansers between chapters.
- Popular histories of medicine & anatomy theaters (intro-level): context for licit/illicit cadaver supply, the rise of surgery, and why resurrection men existed.
- Regency/Georgian court histories: light biographies of Princess Charlotte contextualize the palace chapters and their stakes.
- Shelf twins (vibe-compatible reads): gothic YA like Down Comes the Night (clarity and cold), adult historicals with medical layers (The Butchering Art for nonfiction grit).
Editions & Formats (hardcover, collector, audio)
Hardcover
- Why choose: Best jacket art; durable; keepsake quality for a finished duology.
- Snapshot (you provided): Anatomy $12.84, Immortality $9.00.
Paperback
- Why choose: Budget-friendly and portable; annotate without guilt.
- Snapshot: Anatomy $8.13, Immortality $11.32.
Kindle/eBook
- Why choose: Instant start; easy highlighting; built-in dictionary for medical or period terms.
- Snapshot: Anatomy $8.13, Immortality $6.95.
Audiobook
- Why choose: Performance enhances atmosphere—accents, dread, tenderness.
- Snapshot: Trial $0.00; Anatomy $15.61, Immortality $21.07 to buy.
- Tip: If you’re sensitive to surgical description, audio can intensify it; consider reading first, listening second.
Collector notes
- Keep an eye out for sprayed edges, signed stock, or indie-exclusive covers—perfect for a two-book display.
Why Read The Anatomy Books in Chronological Order?
- Momentum matters. The medical and moral dilemmas in Anatomy set the choices that will haunt Immortality.
- Perspective tightens. Book one answers “Can Hazel?”; book two asks “Should Hazel?” You need the first question’s sweat to respect the second question’s cost.
- The world widens. Starting in lecture halls and crypts before stepping into palaces makes the court glitter feel like a trap with better wallpaper—which is the point.
Reading The Anatomy Books in Chronological Order turns the duology into one long, breath-held story: from the slab to the salon, and back to the clinic where decisions count.
Author Spotlight: Dana Schwartz
Dana Schwartz is a #1 New York Times–bestselling author, screenwriter, and the voice behind the acclaimed history podcast Noble Blood. She lives in Los Angeles. Her fiction is pop-smart without being shallow, historical without being stodgy, and romantic without letting the romance erase the ethical and societal questions that make stories linger. Expect crisp sentences, sly humor, and endings that choose meaning over melodrama.
Media Adaptations
No film/TV/radio adaptations have been announced for The Anatomy duology based on the details you shared. The books are cinematic—period sets, eerie streets, high-stakes medical scenes—so if adaptation news arrives, it’ll likely move quickly. For now, your best staging is a rainy afternoon, a mug, and a willingness to let a book put a scalpel to your feelings.
FAQs
Do I need to know medical history to enjoy these?
No. You’ll get just enough context to follow. A glossary/dictionary helps if you love details, but it’s optional.
Is this “realistic” or “supernatural”?
Primarily historical gothic with light speculative elements—especially in Immortality. The uncanny is used to probe ethics, not to erase consequences.
How dark is it?
It contains grave-robbing, illness, and some surgical description; also manipulation by powerful institutions. It’s not gratuitous, but it’s sharp. Check the content notes above.
Romance level?
Central and sincere, with off-page sensuality appropriate for YA. The drive is yearning + choice rather than explicit content.
Can a teen read this?
Many 14+ readers will be fine (and fascinated). Caregivers may want to preview surgical scenes and the body-procurement context.
Which format should I pick first?
If you sample often: Kindle. If you collect: hardcover set. If you commute: audio, but consider reading Anatomy first if you’re squeamish.
Will there be a third book?
This is a duology. The arc closes in book two.
Final Thoughts
A great reading order doesn’t just tell you where to start; it shows you why the path matters. With The Anatomy Books in Chronological Order, you’ll watch Hazel’s desire to heal run headlong into the machinery of class and power—and then watch her decide, scalpel steady, what healing actually means.
Start in the cold: Anatomy will make you shiver—for the romance, for the danger, for the audacity of a girl in a red dress walking into a room of men and saying, teach me anyway. Then go to Immortality, where the warmth of candlelight turns out to be fever if the wrong hands are holding the match. Close the covers with a little more respect for the body, a little more suspicion of anyone promising forever, and a lot more admiration for a heroine who learns to love without forgetting the oath she’s writing for herself.
And that’s the beauty of a tidy two-book saga: you can read the entire story in a single snowy weekend and still have time to text a friend, “I have thoughts.”
