A book on galvanism is checked out from the library. The previous patron to check it out is revealed to be Johann Dippel. This is the name of a real-life alchemist born in Castle Frankenstein in Darmstadt, Germany. Literary scholars and historians have speculated that he was an inspiration for Mary Shelley when she wrote Frankenstein. In 1814, Mary and her future husband Percy traveled near the castle and may have heard stories about its infamous resident.
Boz was the 'nickname' taken by Charles Dickens at an early stage in his career, In 1836 two collections of the essays by Dickens under the name Boz were published
In the scene in which Marlott is reading a newspaper with Boz's account of the medical lecture, the text of surrounding news stories is an excerpt of the 1817 book A Full and Circumstantial Account of the Memorable Battle of Waterloo, by Christopher Kelly.