The Victorian Celebration of Death

by James Stevens Curl

In this beautifully illustrated and well-researched book Professor Curl has rescued much fascinating material from undeserved oblivion, and his work fills a genuine gap. From humble working-class exequies to the massive outpouringof grief at the State funerals of Wellington and Queen Victoria herself, The Victorian Celebration of Death covers an immense canvas. It describes the change in sensibility that led to a new tenderness towards the dead; the history of the urban cemeteries with their architecture and landscapes; the ephemera of death and dying; State funerals as national spectacles; and the utilitarian reactions towards the end of the nineteenth century. Combining wit with compassion, Curl wears his learning lightly, and his taste for the eerie is delicately balanced by this literary personality. He has resurrected many valuable and extremely interesting aspects of nineteenth-century attidues to death and the disposal of the dead; Curl's achievement is as well-ordered as any sumptuous funeral, and is lucid as well as entertaining, with many surprises and assiciated delights.

Genres: History, Death, Nonfiction, Victorian, British Literature, Art, 19th Century

330 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1972

About the author

Born in Ireland, where he received his early education, Professor Emeritus James Stevens Curl has held Chairs in Architectural History at two British Universities. Having graduated in Architecture at Oxford, he went on to study Town Planning, and wrote his Dissertation under the direction of the German architect, Arthur Korn. He later read for his Doctorate at University College London, and has twice been Visiting Fellow at Peterhouse, University of Cambridge. He is a Member of The Royal Irish Academy, a Fellow of the Societies of Antiquaries of London and of Scotland, an Architect Accredited in Building Conservation, a member of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, a Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and a Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects . He worked for a number of years as an architect, with an especial interest in historic buildings and conservation, until he became a full-time academic in 1978, having already published perceptive articles and books which began to establish his reputation for impeccable scholarship, a fine prose-style, and penetrating insights.

Reviews

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book - it is exactly the kind of barmy, obsessive subject that I can't resist and I recommend the following reviews which are not behind paywalls:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3826582?...

and

https://dalspaceb.library.dal.ca/serv...

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see why James Curl is The Cemetery Guy: he seems to know the ins and outs of every law, reform crusade, and aesthetic movement that contributed to the establishment of modern cemeteries. Unfortunately, this leads his book to be drier than the occupants of said cemeteries. Also Curl, disappointingly, barely covers other aspects of Victorian mourning, cramming information about waking, clothing, mourning customs, hair jewelry, the crepe trade, etc. into a few chapters on the end which mainly discuss royal funerals. While I will definitely keep this on my shelf as a great reference book, I was expecting a wider breadth of inquiry about Victorian attitudes toward death (Curl discuss nicely, and at length, attitudes toward burial, but less about death itself) and the constellations of goods and behaviors that made up the Celebration of death.

My favorite thing about the book, though? Curl's grumpy demeanor. He's pretty cheesed off about contemporary funeral practices and isn't afraid to say so.

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m afraid that this author has managed to make what could have been an excellent & interesting subject extremely boring!

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I end up reading strange things while killing time at the library (pardon the pun). The information about funereal traditions and Victorian culture was quite interesting, though I ended up skimming the drier sections on land sales, business, and architecture. Curl is very passionate about his subject though, and I have no doubt the "lavishly illustrated" second edition is even better than the one I read.

[Matt Bashore · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author obviously spent a lifetime researching the move from churchyard burials to suburban cemeteries. But most of it does not make interesting reading, especially in his highly-detailed, disjointed, repetitive style. However, I enjoyed the slightly more cohesive first chapter on Victorian funerary processions, fashions, jewelry, etc., and there were some interesting (and often grotesque) facts scattered throughout.
It does contain one of the best dedications I've read, obviously to his long-suffering wife: "for Eileen, who could never enthuse about cemeteries, but who understood"

[Michal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, well-researched book that perhaps talks more about cemeteries than anything else related to the funerary customs of the Victorian era.

The author is opinionated, and misses no opportunity to complain about modern times (more or less anything after 1950s in his eyes) which gets tiresome after a while.

Still, there are many interesting facts that have given some ideas for future travels.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely well-written and lavishly illustrated.

[Lynsey Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mediocre 3 stars.

It appears the spooky reading gods are not with me this Gothtober as we have the third disappointing read on the bounce.

This book looks and smells wonderful. And it started wonderfully. The first part of this book is stuffed to the gills with facts. FACTS! Facts any self respecting lover of Victorian gothic mourning (such as myself) would love. There are things in these pages I had no idea of and others that had never even crossed my mind. Descriptions of crepe and Ostrich feathers abounded and the whole world of prescribed mourning was laid bare. I loved it. I will be keeping this book based on this section alone.

As the second section does not warrant such actions.

The author uses the second part of this book for two things.

1. To bore the reader to death with facts and figures about the building and running of the Magnificent Seven Cemeteries.

I for one do not care how much a share was for working at Highgate, or who took who to court about what and the name of every Director involved with Brompton. I want the aesthetic. I do not want boring numbers.

2. To go off on a personal rant about the state of these cemeteries in the 1970’s (when the book was written) and how the design of new cemeteries is less than aesthetically pleasing.

Now this I could normally get behind as I only ever want my graveyards and the like to look like a overgrown gothic wonderland. I do not want new, I want decay god damn it. However this point of view in this book is put across so boringly and written in pure 1970’s Tory that it made me sick. I’m pretty sure the writer thought he was the only person in the world who could decide what was beautiful and what wasn’t.

A shame as this could have been lovely. It started off lovely and that is what I will take with me.

Please Cuthulu let my next book be good!

[Maybelle Wallis · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the main characters in my debut novel, Heart of Cruelty, is a Victorian coroner and I have tried to evoke a morbidly Gothic atmosphere.

A great source of inspiration was The Victorian Celebration of Death, by Professor Curl, an architectural historian. The book is in itself a celebration of the 19th century fascination with the elaborate remembrance of the deceased.

Nowadays funerals are mostly simple ceremonies, whilst young couples will gladly spend on their wedding the equivalent of the deposit on their first home. In the Victorian age, it was the other way around. Grandiose funeral processions with horse-drawn hearses adorned with black feather plumes and attendants in black mourning clothes were de rigueur even in poor districts.

Great public cemeteries such as Kensal Green in London, Glasnevin in Dublin and the Necropolis in Glasgow evolved during the 19th century. In a parkland setting, the bereaved put up ornate tombs in the classical style, with sculptured angels, weeping mourners, and marble figures in eternal repose.

Professor Curl’s book is lavishly illustrated with the architecture of the age and with the ephemera of mourning.

[Geof Sage · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started strong, with an overview of changing customs, but somewhere in the middle, the author started spending too much time on the intricacies of intercinine feuds among directors of joint-stock companies who founded and managed cemeteries (first wtf moment) and then how much he hates "debased architecture" (second), and then this peculiar resentment towards #1 the Scottish and #2 Northern Irish Protestants (third).

Stick to the first three chapters and you're fine.

[Virginia Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely well-researched, scholarly study of the development, design and architecture of Victorian cemeteries in England and 19th century funeral customs. Its scope covers everything from poetry and art, to architecture and garden design, to religion and social manners. A must read for anyone interested in the topic of the history of cemeteries and mourning.

[Lorelei · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is misleading. Aside from one or two chapters on mourning accessories and funerals, this is largely about the evolution of cemeteries and their architectural achievements. Which is all well and good, but not why I wanted to read this.

[Adam Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most important books on this subject, a classic.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of information. Sometimes, too much! All in all, an interesting read.

[C. B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curl's style is delightfully over the top. But it is true... the way society treats its dead is reflective of it. Despite getting a little bogged-down in the details of legislation, this is a romantic and passionate approach to the topic.

[Nurture Waratah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This could have been a very interesting topic, but the writing is boring and repetitive. I gave up after page sixteen.