From Roman burial rites to the horrors of the plague, from the founding
of the great Victorian cemeteries to the development of cremation and
the current approach of metropolitan society towards death and
bereavement -- including more recent trends to displays of collective
grief and the cult of mourning, such as that surrounding the death of
Diana, Princess of Wales -- NECROPOLIS: LONDON AND ITS DEAD offers a
vivid historical narrative of this great city's attitude to going the
way of all flesh. As layer upon layer of London soil reveals burials
from pre-historic and medieval times, the city is revealed as one giant
grave, filled with the remains of previous eras -- pagan, Roman,
medieval, Victorian. This fascinating blend of archaeology, architecture
and anecdote includes such phenomena as the rise of the undertaking
trade and the pageantry of state funerals; public executions and
bodysnatching.
Ghoulishly entertaining and full of fascinating
nuggets of information, Necropolis leaves no headstone unturned in its
exploration of our changing attitudes to the deceased among us. Both
anecdotal history and cultural commentary, Necropolis will take its
place alongside classics of the city such as Peter Ackroyd's LONDON.
Necropolis : London and Its Dead - Catharine Arnold
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£9.99