In Charles Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities, a "Resurrection Man" refers to an individual who illegally steals dead bodies from graveyards to be sold to medical schools or hospitals for dissection and anatomical studies. Resurrection Men were active during the late 18th and early 19th centuries in England, when there was a high demand for cadavers for medical research and education, but the legal supply was limited due to restrictions and regulations on body dissection.
These individuals faced significant risks and legal consequences for their actions since grave robbing was considered a crime at that time. They often worked covertly at night, digging up graves and extracting the bodies, which they would then take them to their buyers for financial compensation. Resurrections Men operated outside the legal framework and were often involved in shady and risky activities.