Grave Matters: Death and Dying in Dublin, 1500 to the Present

by Lisa Marie Griffith (Editor), Ciaran Wallace (Editor)

This book examines the universal subject of death - looking at the particular experience of death, burial and commemoration in Dublin since the 16th century. Using death as a way of understanding social conditions, these essays consider the role of the public funeral in establishing political hierarchies, the fate of the city's poor during the era of the penal laws and the survival of the death penalty to 1990. Contributions also explore the meanings behind humble headstones and elaborate memorials and investigate post-mortem photography.

Genres: Historical

252 pages, Paperback

Published July 15, 2016

Reviews

[Kitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book from my interest in cultural views around death and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of medical, historical and architectural knowledge spread out through the chapters. Albeit not as philosophical as I had initially assumed and hoped. Easy to understand and digest as a layperson and with some uncannily timed sound advice surrounding the 1918 flu!

[Belinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw this second hand and picked it up on a whim, so glad I did.

Topics are surprisingly broad, and not every essay in here is to my taste. One on Crimean War memorials in particular I found to be a snooze-fest, but then another on 18th century head stones that spent three pages listing occupations absolutely fascinated me for some reason. The absolute highlight was an appendix item detailing the history of a Dublin funeral home.

While I didn't love every essay, it's very hard to find fault here honestly.