No Ordinary Deaths. A People's History of Mortality
Molly Conisbee
Synopsis "No Ordinary Deaths. A People's History of Mortality"
'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?
''A beautifully written and thought provoking journey'' Professor Sue Black, author of All That RemainsHistory 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. 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.
