Overview

History is dominated by the A-list deaths - Queens beheaded, Archdukes assassinated. But what about everyone else? How did ordinary people through history prepare for the end, depart this life, grieve their loved ones and imagine what came next? From the professional death-watchers of the middle ages to the fabulous Victorian funeral garments that kick-started fast fashion, historian and bereavement counsellor Molly Conisbee explores how cycles of dying, death and disposal shaped not just the lives of our ancestors, but their beliefs, politics and societies too. Richly told, deeply researched, No Ordinary Deaths uses the stories of everyday people - from a condemned criminal to a Welsh folklorist and a grieving daughter in 1880s London - to open a window into the hopes, fears and wishes of our forebears, and in the process, bring death ... to life.

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9781800815872

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Reviews

A beautifully written and thought provoking journey through the world of death. It addresses our human compulsion to mark the end of life and how that has changed over time. It reminds us that often we are where we are, because of what others have chosen to do before us. Life affirming -- Professor Sue Black, author * All That Remains: A Life in Death * Fascinating...a compelling work of social history, exploring how we died - and how we lived -- Judith Flanders, author * Rites of Passage: Death and Mourning in Victorian Britain * By introducing us to the hidden histories of those who perished in obscurity, Conisbee provides fascinating glimpses of attitudes to death through the ages -- Catharine Arnold, author * Necropolis: London and Its Dead * A rich and moving history of our changing relationship to one of life's few certainties: death. Molly Conisbee is a sensitive and empathic guide as she encourages us to look to the past to deepen our understanding of loss and grief. A captivating read -- Chris Pearson, author * Collared *

A surprisingly lively history of funerary rituals and mourning... These engaging essays offer valuable insights into the lives and deaths of ordinary men and women * Sunday Times * A beautifully written and thought provoking journey through the world of death. It addresses our human compulsion to mark the end of life and how that has changed over time. It reminds us that often we are where we are, because of what others have chosen to do before us. Life affirming -- Professor Sue Black, author * All That Remains: A Life in Death * No Ordinary Deaths is written with care, passion and clarity that fascinates and leaves the reader, perhaps surprisingly, with life-affirming awe. An excellent new addition to the social history bookshelves * buzz magazine * Fascinating...a compelling work of social history, exploring how we died - and how we lived -- Judith Flanders, author * Rites of Passage: Death and Mourning in Victorian Britain * By introducing us to the hidden histories of those who perished in obscurity, Conisbee provides fascinating glimpses of attitudes to death through the ages -- Catharine Arnold, author * Necropolis: London and Its Dead * A rich and moving history of our changing relationship to one of life's few certainties: death. Molly Conisbee is a sensitive and empathic guide as she encourages us to look to the past to deepen our understanding of loss and grief. A captivating read -- Chris Pearson, author * Collared * A fascinating and moving account of the ways, over the last 500 years, people have prepared for death, and grieved and mourned for those who have already made that final journey -- Edward Parnell, author * Ghostland *

Author Information

Molly Conisbee is a social historian who works at the University of Bristol. A bereavement counsellor and expert on the social history of death and mourning, she has curated walks on the history of death around the country, and has written for the Guardian, Ecologist and Red Pepper.

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