The Victorians were familiar with death and, while they did not welcome it, they felt relatively at ease with it. This book looks at the background to Victorian ideas and at the way in which those beliefs were given substance in the funeral and through the practices of mourning.
It sets out to show the extent to which funerals reflected the social divisions that were present within nineteenth-century society.
There is much in this book to interest social historians, those with a concern for historical costume, and transport enthusiasts, for there is a section on the development of the horse-drawn hearse.
Contents:
A Decent Burial
The Hearse
Funeral Hospitality
Mourning and Memorabilia
God's Acre
State Funerals
Further Reading
Places to Visit
