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.

Vorwort
A vibrant, compelling social history of death, dying, and how our ends shape our lives and societies

Autorentext
Molly Conisbee is a social historian and visiting research fellow at the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath. She has a PhD from the University of Bristol and has spent the last ten years researching the social history of death and mourning. Conisbee is also a bereavement counsellor, has curated walks on the history of death around the country and has written for the Guardian and Ecologist