No Ordinary Deaths
History is dominated by A-list deaths: queens beheaded archdukes assassinated. But what about everyone else? How did ordinary people depart this life and grieve for loved ones – and which of the old ways might help us prepare for the end? Our ancestors, living closer to death than we do, had a more intimate and integrated relationship with death as a familiar presence in daily life. From the death-watchers of the Middle Ages to the pomp of Victorian funeral wear, by way of plague pits, grave-robberies and wakes, historian and bereavement counsellor Molly Conisbee explores how cycles of dying, death and disposal have shaped – and been shaped by – society.
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'A beautifully written and thought provoking journey' Professor Sue Black, author of All That Remains'There surely won't be a better history of the subject than Conisbee's' Literary Review 'Richly researched ... an intimate chronology' TLSThe lost art of 'dying well' was common knowledge to our ancestors - who, living closer to death than we do, had an intimate and integrated relationship with the afterlife. For centuries, cycles of death, dying and disposal have shaped society, from the death-watchers of the Middle Age to the pomp of Victorian funeral wear.Ranging from the plague pit to the grave-robbery, from consecrated ground to the hangman's drop, No Ordinary Deaths is a groundbreaking work of social history which asks: how did our ancestors live, and die? How might the old ways help prepare us for our own ends?
Additional information
| Weight | 300 g |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 196 × 128 × 28 mm |
| Author | |
| Publisher | Wellcome Collection |
| Imprint | Wellcome Collection |
| Cover | Paperback |
| Pages | 368 |
| Language | English |
| Edition | |
| Dewey | 306.9 (edition:23) |
| Readership | General – Trade / Code: K |