The Victorian Book of the Dead

Ghosts of the Past

by Chris Woodyard, Jessica Wiesel (Illustrator)

Chris Woodyard, author of the The Ghosts of the Past series, digs through long-buried newspapers and journals, for this fascinating look at the 19th-century obsession with the culture of death. The Victorian Book of the Dead unearths extraordinary tales of Victorian funeral fads and fancies, ghost stories, bizarre deaths, mourning novelties, gallows humor, premature burial, post-mortem photographs, death omens, and funeral disasters. Resurrected from original sources, these accounts reveal the oddities and eccentricities of Victorian mourning. Packed with macabre anecdotes, this diverting, yet gruesome collection presents tales ranging from the paranormal and shocking to the heartbreaking. Some of the stories in The Victorian Book of the Dead *mourning bicycles, black boudoirs, and sable cigarettes for the up-to-date widow *a child ghost who beckoned for her father to follow her into death *black dogs and shrieking banshee who foretold death and disaster *the widow who fired the undertaker who would not give her trading stamps. *a corpse that spontaneously combusted in the coffin *the fiendish parrot who murdered his mistress *The petrified corpse furniture created by Professor Segato *visions of the Grim Reaper and the Angel of Death *the man who lived in the tomb of his wife *A mourning wreath made from the hair of a murdered family *interviews with undertakers, post-mortem photographers and morgue attendants And many more tales from the crypts.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Death, Gothic, Victorian, Historical, Medical

360 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2014

Reviews

[Joe Krakovsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

"White ink is now sold for writing on black cards. It is the latest mourning fad. It is better not to mourn at all than to mourn out of fashion."

Don't laugh, this people were serious. If you think people today are crazy for needing the latest fashion or electronic device, people at the end of the nineteenth carried this urge to satisfy to the extreme. Black was the color of mourning, and a pretentious exhibition of a sense of loss was expected by those closest to the dearly departed. One was expected to spend lavishly to make sure everyone knew how sad you were, especially if their was a good chance for a fat juicy inheritance! Indeed, it was the rich upper class who set the fashion, and which everybody tried to mimic in a trickle down manner. Of course the poor widow of a coalminer could not hope to get the floral arrangements nor go out riding on a black wheel (bicycle) in black weeds (clothing and proper headdress and veil) like a Vanderbilt, but she would at least hang the mandatory black crepe on the door. One poor widow bought a nice new dress and bonnet for the funeral but was shamed into making a further purchase of a complete black outfit. The funny thing was that even though a widow was expected to dress head to toe in black, with a veil, except for the funeral, men simply wore a black band of crepe on their jacket sleeve and hat. The bands had to be the proper width depending on the relationship to the deceased, of course!

This book made for fascinating and entertaining reading. If you ever wondered why some of those tombstones from around 1900 were so big and fancy, this book tells you why. But it is so much more than that. There are stories, however brief, of grave robbing, being buried alive, ghosts and specters, premonitions, rituals, beliefs, and customs. Being as most of this research came from old newspaper and magazine articles, the author has blended them into his manuscript in such a way that you often fail to realize where one ends and the other begins. Of course he lists sources which makes it easy for further research into the macabre.

Now I love my wife, but if she passed away, I surely wouldn't have her embalmed, or petrified, so I could see her through the glass covering like Snow White in her coffin in a corner of our living room. Nor would I have her dug up and have her bathed and redressed and then buried again on a regular bases. According to this book that is what some folks use to do, and it is probably a good thing that they have laws against this sort of thing now. Come to think of it, we once lived down the street from this elderly couple and when one of them passed away sitting in their favorite chair, their spouse left them there until the son came for a visit, for they knew they would be lonely without their loved one. True story.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Victorian Period on both sides of the pond demanded many very particular rules be followed when death had visited a household. The Victorian Book of the Dead edited by Chris Woodyard covers all aspects of how death was handled by people during the Victorian Era through articles from journals and ones he has unearthed which have not been seen since day of publication. Topics that Mr. Woodyard mentions are funeral musts and ‘fads’, mourning clothing and jewelry, the forms of grieving, strange deaths, odds discoveries by people in positions as grave diggers and undertakers, fear of premature burials, spiritualism, superstitions, various personifications of death, post-mortem photography, ‘gallows humor’, additional tales including ghost stories, and an introduction which includes a Victorian deathbed scene by Charles Dickens. There is morose information as well as just plain unbelievable words plus humor. Mr Woodyard has done a truly fine job relating the Victorian Era’s culture of death.

[Caitlin Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource of newspaper articles, journals, facts, and satire from an era with a fascination around death. American and European alike, it contains fantastic information about practices and vanacular. Won't soon forget about mourning cigarettes and deaths by way of novel.

[Abbey Padin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spell definitely has some interesting passages,
however it isn’t the easiest book to read. Most of the text is either a preface regarding the information in the next passage, or the exact wording as an article or story was written in a formal Victorian way. I know that was what I was expecting when going into reading this book but it can get very tiresome to read passage after passage. some of the passages are quite repetitive. there are some great things in this book but I feel it could’ve been condensed down a little bit more or had more notes when trying to decipher some of the language used. it took me way longer than expected to finish this book.

[Virginia Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using accounts from old newspapers and primary sources, Chris Woodyard, provides a fascinating look at the 19th-century obsession with the culture of death, from funeral fads, including mourning fashion and post-mortem photographs, to fears of premature burial and hauntings. Macabre, but charming and at times moving, this book will appeal to those with an interest in the more bizarre aspects of Victorian culture.

[Jim Dooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE VICTORIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD likely has more information than you’ll ever want to know about attitudes toward death and the burial practices (usual and extremely bizarre) around the Victorian era. The vast majority of the stories come from the United States, although there are some from a few other countries. Almost all of them are from newspaper articles that were designed to sell copies, so they often tended toward the lurid and sensational.

I chose this book more as an entertaining distraction (while I was in the waiting room for Jury Duty), so there were chapters that provided way too much detail of mundane concerns for my taste. For instance, the history of crepe was provided including how to keep it clean without destroying the black tone. I also read about mourning jewelry which was far more than I ever wanted to know. I crawled through those chapters.

Conversely, there were chapters such as “The Corpse Sat Up: Wakes and Watches Gone Wrong” and “Grave Errors: Exploding Corpses, Flaming Formaldehyde and Other Funeral Fatalities” that I fairly breezed through with morbid chuckles that would not have been out of place among “The Addams Family.” Those always had me anticipating the next chapter.

There were also extremely moving stories. The book closes with an account written by a minister whose family lost their newborn infant of only nine days. Even as I write this, I can feel my tears welling up again.

The book’s contents has been “collected” by Chris Woodyard who mostly allows the articles to “speak” for themselves with a minimum of editorial commentary. I attended one of her lectures with the Ohio History Connection (formerly the Ohio Historical Society) and know her mainly as the editor of the HAUNTED OHIO book series. THE VICTORIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD is in much the same vein although it contains much that would appeal to those interested in taking a deeper dive into historical details.

Once more, I wish that GoodReads provided a “half-star” option. In its absence, I’m “rounding up.”

[Geertje]

This book is not what I thought it would be. I made it about 15% in, I believe. I thought it would be an exploration and analysis of Victorian death culture. Instead, it is more like a scrapbook of newspaper clippings and interesting stories relating to Victorian death culture. Those are interesting in and of themselves, of course, and probably of worth to people doing research into this (and should I ever write of this topic, I will most certainly read more of this book) but it is not what I am looking for right now.

[Michele Whitecotton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was very interesting. It really described the rituals of the Victorians when faced with death. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because there were only a few pages detailing the post mortem photography and that's the part I'm most interested in and there was an extreme shortage of photos of any kind in this book. I found it fascinating but hoped there would be a little of what I was looking for.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting but not

I bought this book expecting some tawdriness but basically all it doesis reprint newspaper articles from the 1800s. I really got no insight to the whys..just here are some articles, you decide if they are real.

[Laura]

Awesome book.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating book! It was not exactly what I expected, but that didn’t matter.

This book is a compilation of newspaper and magazine articles and other publications. They have been gathered and organized by topic, and there are short blurbs of explanation in between. It is interesting to read the stories and accounts as the people living during the Victorian era read them. There is great variety to them — some are sad, while others are humorous or witty. Some discuss proper mourning etiquette, and others tell of strange deaths.

My only complaint was at times the stories became redundant and dull.

Overall, as someone fascinated by the Victorian era, this book was a wonderful read.

[Bianca Rose (Belladonnabooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but a tad bit dry in parts.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't a fine, serious work of nonfiction. Instead, it's more on par with the fun to read and vaguely trashy nonfiction like the book Weird New Jersey and its many spinoffs. It's made up of newspaper articles and commentary from the Victorian times detailing their quite morbid culture of death, something that the Victorians were notorious for. In this book, Woodyard discusses everything from death photography to being buried alive to the clothing mourners wore and the Victorian strive to do everything, including mourning, properly.

My favorite chapter was probably the chapter Died of Lizards, about strange ways Victorians met their ends, including by a gas addicted bird, 2 women who lost everyone in their family within a span of a very short time (in one case, her child was struck by the hearse carrying her husband), and "the effects of 'skipping the rope'." whatever the hell that means. There's something very Gorey-esque about these stories, and it reminded me of two of his short stories in particular- The Gashlycrumb Tinies (obviously), and The Hapless Child. What really takes the cake about these stories is dry way the reporters comment on these strange demises. Needless to say, I found them hilarious.

The fashion historian in me also feels the need comment on how much I liked the chapter Crape too. It's got lots of fun details on the garments worn by mourners.

Continue reading this review on my blog here: https://bookwormbasics.blogspot.com/2...

[Maranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very interesting collection of primary source material, with commentary by Chris Woodyard. The Victorian Book of the Dead was incredibly well researched. A must read for any fan of Victoriana or lover of the macabre.

[Mteresa forguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victorian mourning rituals

Interesting books with lots of stories and facts ...
I enjoyed reading it although some of them a little boring .... All in all worth your time

[Elyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book seems to be a hodge podge of news articles. I think I would have enjoyed it more if there was a bit more narration or commentary.

[SabCo T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently, once again, I either didn’t pay attention to, or didn’t understand, what this book actually consisted of. I thought it was a historian’s research and explanations of Victorian ‘death practices’ via newspapers and journals that was their source. What it actually is though, is a giant book of all newspaper articles and journals printed out for you to sit and read through yourself. I’m not exactly opposed to this, since I read a book with a similar formatting about The Servant Maid Annihilator, but I had known that going into that book.

I wouldn’t say I felt… tricked? But it’s definitely not what I expected, and I don’t know that I’d have added it to my wishlist [and therefore received it as a gift] if I had known it was a giant book of printed articles. And not just any articles, old timey Victorian-age articles. To add to this as well, this book definitely seems more independently-published which I don’t mind at all, except for the typos inside of it, and the fact that for some reason the author didn’t think it would have been beneficial to either have different font types or font sizes to differentiate between all the articles and their commentary before/interrupting/after the articles. Frequently I would have to stop and re-read sections after being confused about why the perspective suddenly changed or how the text from one paragraph to the next suddenly didn’t make sense. The only difference between the two was the indentation, but most of the time it was all so subtle and clustered together, it was barely noticeable. I’m sure that it would have probably been more expensive to alter the fonts in some way between the articles/author’s direct writings, but I really feel like it would have made a drastic difference; not to mention would have helped me not feel like reading through certain chapters was an actual chore.

Allllllllllll of that being said, I did actually like the book’s contents. The subject matter has always been interesting to me, since a lot of ‘curiosity cabinet’ innards and concepts come from the Victorian ages themselves, or inspired later generations. Stuff like post-mortem photography, [mourning] hair art, and historic funeral practices is definitely my jam. Most of what we think of with imagery of ‘the grieving widow’ and practices still held today during funerals, in some way or another was either invented or drastically altered by the Victorian ages. Those Victorians sure liked the death and macabre, and grieving was a very particular and judgement-driven affair.

I don’t want to go into too much detail here since it’s historical information, but I’ll give some highlights that I thought were either especially abhorrent or especially interesting:


-When Victorian women were prepping their wedding, in addition to usually sewing some part of their bridal getup, would sew their own burial shrouds as apart of the process due to how prevalent dying during childbirth was - and baby making was obviously expected to follow marriage.

-While there was an insane amount of ‘mourning wear’ that people would wear to show their grief, apparently there used to be a specific type of ‘mourning rings’ that were in the shape of little coffins with a carved skeleton inside that had the name and/or birth and death dates of the person they lost. You can look them up and they’re both beautiful and oddly adorable.

-I thought it was mostly a Mary Shelly thing [she kept her husband’s preserved heart with her most of her life after he died] apparently keeping either parts of your loved ones post-mortem or even their full mummified or petrified body was something people did then. [And yes, I know this is a common practice in many other parts of the world, but I’m talking about Victorian white people here] It’s wasn’t common but also not entirely looked down upon, either.

-The full mourning attire that most women were culturally forced to wear when grieving was full of various toxic elements that would sometimes disfigure them if it didn’t fully poison them to death

-Men’s mourning attire [besides wearing black] usually only required certain colored gloves and the size/color of the band on their hats to signal they were grieving

-Women’s crinoline [usually the petticoat part of their dresses] were massively unwieldy but also horribly flammable. It was so common for women’s dresses to catch on fire and engulf them in flames instantly that it was considered a massive public health risk and announced by most of the US government at the time. Some doctors and newspaper referred to it as ‘The Crinoline Holocaust.’ [Idea for an all-lady metal band name, btw]. It also was taken advantage of, as many men who no longer wanted to deal with/be married to their wives [and didn’t want to put forth the effort to get her locked up in an asylum for no reason] would simply throw matches at their wives to light them on fire and it would be deemed an accident.

-[Women’s choice of killing their husbands at the time was arsenic]

-Women were held to a very strict grieving timeline, or she would be publicly shunned and exiled. If a grieving widow was seen not wearing specific expected items for certain periods of time, it was a massive ordeal. Widows would sometimes be expected to have to wear the full [dangerous] grieving outfit, act a certain way, speak a certain way, for over two years or more. But if a widow acted too emotionally [full on early/violent grief of crying inconsolably] for too long [according to her family or the public] she could be locked up in an asylum.

-James Moon’s S*icide Machine [AKA – auto-decapitation machine]. That’s all. Look it up.

-Wells Fargo has been around for fucking ever, and has been super corrupt for fucking ever. They were caught in a rather large scandal around 1891 where instead of letting people who died of tuberculosis away from their families be buried as cheaply as possible where they lived at the time, first would hold the body hostage until a living friend or family member was found. Then they would take the dead, embalm them, dress them up in the best funeral clothes around, in expensive coffins, require them to be shipped in ‘express trains’ [instead of just regular trains where they could be kept on ice], and force the family/friends to not only take responsibility, but make them foot the bill to the services they didn’t at all agree to, and would either [again] hold the body hostage or threaten legal/police action if someone didn’t pay them.

-It was believed that if a cat crossed over top a corpse for any reason, that cat was trying to make the corpse reanimate into a vampire. So any cats that just so happened to walk over/lay on/or even be near a corpse [including pet cats that were laying with their deceased owners, often in their own form of grief] would be killed, as to prevent the vampiric process to take place. [what.the.fuck.]

-Premature Burial was very much a thing, and was very much a problem in the Victorian age. And it’s about as terrifying as you can imagine. They were mostly found later when being exhumed for whatever reason and finding evidence of the person’s attempts to escape while suffocating [torn material in the coffin/scratches and broken wood, blood streaks on the inside from the people breaking their fingernails or bloodying their hands from trying to break through, or the body found in an obviously different position than they were laid in], but sometimes also because bodysnatching for medical schools was very much a thing back then, the supposedly dead person would snap awake while being dissected. [if they were lucky – sometimes it wasn’t until someone was fully cut into that it was seen that they bled and their organs could be seen moving]

-I’ve always thought that the ‘living room’ was called that because it’s a centralized common area but it got its name primarily in the Victorian era. In those times, home funerals were much more prevalent, and you’d keep the dead person in a separate room from the living mourners so no one would be overwhelmed/visit as they felt comfortable. The biggest room would be used for the ‘living’ while a smaller room would be where the body was laid, which is how the name stuck.


I will additionally say that there’s a lot of cool sources to check out in the book. It kinda sucks having to transcribe printed-out link urls [I’d like to hope that if the book is ever re-printed it’d use QR codes or something in addition at the very least] but most of the links that were listed as sources or suggested follow-up visits were well worth it, and often very macabre.

Also, we can’t forget Victorian-age racism. The Author does a good job about warning when such was going to be included in an upcoming article, but there is still some serious racist cringe going on.

Here’s one of the ‘nicer’ blurbs as an example. [prepare yourself]

“In short time this procedure was repeated, and again and again did Mr. Moon disturb the grave in which his dead wife reposed to carry out his gruesome ideas of devotion. In the meantime, Moon’s friends tried by every argument within their power to dissuade him from his course, but he seemed to be unsusceptible to reason on the subject. He no longer could obtain assistance from white women of Caddo, and was obliged to employ two old colored mammies to take part in the periodic rites. Finally the negresses were frightened from the work by the stories of ‘spooks’ and spirits told to them by indignant white people.”

Big. Fuckin’. Yikes. [Also the context is that the man’s grief was so inconsolable and insisted that he dig up his wife’s body every other day to change her clothes]

Despite that this is an insanely long review and was the biggest ‘TIL’ experience I’ve had in awhile, it still took me forever to get through this book due to my complaints at the very beginning. I definitely recommend a read if you don’t mind reading old timey newspaper clippings and are especially into Victorian lore, but otherwise it was a weird experience for me to be both interested and bored at the same time.

I give The Victorian Book of the Dead 3/5 post-mortem photographs

“One of the oddest whims I have ever been called upon to humor was that of the man who insisted on going to his grave wrapped in the traditional winding sheet. He sent for me several days before he died and explained his fancy. I misunderstood him at first. I thought he meant an ordinary white shroud. I could remember the time, away back in my childhood days, when it was the custom to clothe both men and women in those flowing white robes, and I took it that he was simply a little old-fashioned and wished a reversal to primitive customs. But he quickly corrected that impression.

“I don’t mean anything of the kind,” he said. “I want to be buried in a sheet. A plain, everyday, white sheet.”

For once my curiosity got the better of my good intentions. “I’ll do as you ask, of course.” I said. “but will you kindly tell me why you want to be dressed in that peculiar style?” The old fellow’s answer fairly staggered me.

“Because I’m going to do a good deal of haunting when I’m through with the flesh.” he said, “and I’m going to take the sheet along with me, so there will be no delay about getting down to business. I’m going to leave lots of people behind who have been playing me mean tricks all their lives. I’ve never been able to get back at them in my present state, but just you wait till I get clear of these fetters, and if I don’t haunt them good and hard and make them wish they’d done the square thing by me when they had a chance, it won’t be my fault.”

- - - - -

“With age he had lost none of the urbanity peculiar to him in his sturdiest years, but constant intercourse with grief often assumed had shaken his faith in many things.”

- - - - -

Country Undertaker: Do you make any difference in your manner and expression in conducting different funerals?

City Funeral Director: Certainly. I have three expressions. One for first-class funerals, one for medium, and one for cheap funerals. First-Class funerals, as I call them, are when the family have wealth and social position. These people are calm and undemonstrative in their sorrow and I use what I call my ‘dignified sorrow’ expression – a calm, sad look, with a white tie. I charge $10 extra for this in my et ceteras. For the medium class I just sling in a sort of ‘ministerial sadness’ look that costs them $5 extra. If the family have lots of money and are pretty shoddy and bound to make a big show I use a ‘suppressed grief’ expression that I pride myself on. It is really pathetic. That costs the mourners $25, but it’s a dandy.

[A. L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a culmination of multiple stories, newspaper clippings, and anecdotes of tales concerning the dead during the 1831-1901 time period known as the Victorian Era. It is full of the macabre doings of the people during that time as verified mostly by newspaper clippings as well as a few books written during that era. It has everything from stories of the most bizarre accidental deaths imaginable that are strangely humorous to the most depressing tales of loss and grief and not a few straight baffling incidents. There are reports and fashion trends, supposed hauntings, and popular burial rites. Much of it relates to the society as a whole, but many of the stories were much more individual, thus giving a glimpse of the person rather than merely the populous.

Three things I liked about this book: It is professional but not devoid of humor. The researcher (Chris Woodyard) does very well in keeping himself out of the stories except in the times where a certain amount of explanation might be needed, such as when he found the same first-hand account reported only slightly differently by two journalists at different times. Every possible source is listed both in the bibliography and attached to the story it relates to.

Three things I did not like about this book: Actually, I could only find one thing, shame on me. Sometimes the formatting is a little confusing when it comes to the headings. Some headings mark new stories, and some headings mark new sections within the same story.

On a scale of 1-10, I give this book a 9! It was near perfection with only a few minor issues and a fabulous resource for the time period. Just don't read too much at once, it is a very macabre book, and I would suggest caution to the younger crowds. Death ain't delicate or pretty. (This is beside the point, but it also has a really awesome cover!)

[D J Rout · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well-researched collectioj of anecdotes and newspaper stories form the Victorian era, focussed mainly on the US but with some UK stories, too, detailing Victorian attitudes to death and all things connected ot it, including spiritualism, spirit photography, the treatment of the poor after death, cosmetology and grief, among other things.

Some of the stories are quite moving, some funny, a couple genuinely creepy.

It also comes with a very good bibliography which inludes links to websites, that you can just click to if you're using the right model Kindle. Since I judge every bibvliography by whether it includes books I've previously read on the subject, this bibliography gets an A for including Jessica Mitford's

[Mel]

Rachel Maksy reading aloud selections from the bizarre deaths chapter is all the advertisement I need. It strikes me as an excellent gift book. Does this say something about me or my acquaintances? No matter, I'll just have to gift it to myself.

My favorite example mentioned has to be the Parrot Murderer: an evil-dispositioned bird, and a feathered victim of the Gas Habit.

For a tease of the contents, and some makeup and hairstyling, check out her video: Unlucky Ways to Die in Victorian Times (happy holidays?)

[Emily Poche · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is somewhat difficult to review in the traditional sense as it’s not exactly a narrative. This is a curated collection of newspaper and magazine articles from the extended Victorian era with some context and comment from the author. I thought that the curation of the articles was superb and that they were arranged into very thoughtful sections that were thematically appropriate.

I do wish that there was more in the way of commentary from the author. Where there are short notes they’re either very insightful or amusing, but they do seem very scant.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for thoughtful analysis of Victorian death culture, this probably won't be what you want. However if you're in the mood for (or looking for) a collection of primary source articles and excerpts about Victorian death culture and a very complete bibliography, I definitely recommend this as a resource.


I also admit to thinking at a few points, "Oh, those wacky Victorians!", which probably isn't helpful to anyone.

[Michelle Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book!!! It was not at all what I expected but I was so happy to see several of my favorite topics covered. I didn’t really start to get into it until half way through but that’s more due to the style of data collection. These are a combination of Victorian newspapers clipping and stories. Very well documented and every point of information is accounted for. I recommend this read!
It’s also an excellent conversation piece and coffee table book!

[Nikki Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This captured the time of memorial during the Victorian era, which was from head to toe and encapsulated their whole life for a spell. Such as reading spiritualist books, performing seances, dressing in all black, having wakes in their front parlor for full body viewing, and what all went into funerals and funeral arrangements. It was an entire business and production, and it was fascinating to see how far we are removed from that in this day and age.

[M.J. Ceruti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un poco decepcionante. Esperaba un ensayo, pero es más que nada una colección de citas de periódicos y revistas de la época. Sigue estando muy bien documentado y conteniendo información útil, pero el formato lo ha hecho muy pesado de leer. Es más un manual de consulta para casos puntuales que una lectura por placer.

[Becky Weeks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been fascinated with death and all it encompasses since I was a little girl. Some of my favorite reads are books that touch on the history and customs surrounding funerals and post mortem rituals. While I wish the layout was done a bit differently, this is an excellent look at the Victorian fascination with death.

[frilly em · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and creatively inspiring but could do without the authors often judgy personal opinions. Also, it would have also been nice to see stories from more locations. Most of the stories are from Ohio or Ohio news papers, which makes sense concerning the authors background, but it would have been nice to see a more proportional selection of where stories came from.

[s a pengelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating.

I love the humour, pathos and wit in the introductions to these stories. We humans have had and do have some odd ideas about death and ghosts. Having met several of the latter I'm not unnerved in the slightest and can confirm they do know if death bed or will requests have not been met.

[Kara Prem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victorian Book of the Dead is an incredibly comprehensive look at funeral practices and customs in the Victorian era. From embalming and burial techniques to proper mourning attire and stationary, along with ghost stories and newspaper articles about interesting deaths, odd trends and anything else you can imagine. Very interesting book.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This nonfiction book will help me a lot with the book I'm writing set in the Victorian era. There's a bunch of info in here that I would have gotten wrong had I not read The Victorian Book of the Dead.

An interesting, and often amusing, book even if you aren't using it for research.