No Ordinary Deaths: A People's History of Mortality
No Ordinary Deaths: A People's History of Mortality by Molly Conisbee
English | 1 May 2025 | ISBN: 1800815875 | True EPUB | 368 pages | 13.4 MB
English | 1 May 2025 | ISBN: 1800815875 | True EPUB | 368 pages | 13.4 MB
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. She examines, through the prism of past deaths, their interweaving with our beliefs and politics, our most fervent hopes and deepest fears and, ultimately, what it means to 'die well'.
A groundbreaking new work of social history, No Ordinary Deaths paints a rich picture of the lives of our forebears, skilfully bringing the lost art of death to life today.