The English way of death: the common funeral since 1450

Dr Julian Litten, long regarded as England's authority on funeral customs, leads us from the pomp and panoply of the post-medieval funeral to the clinical anonymity of present-day obsequies. Lavishly illustrated in colour and monochrome, the book explores the rise of the undertaking trade and the changing etiquette which governed burial: for the rich, embalming, lying-in-state, heraldic parades with richly attired attendants and intermural burial in the family vault - and for the poor, by stark contrast, parochial processions through muddy fields and interment in a woollen shroud in the corner of a country churchyard. Unavailable for over a decade this timely reissue will be welcomed by anyone with an interest in our social history.