No Ordinary Deaths

A vibrant, compelling social history of death, dying, and how our ends shape our lives and societies

A surprisingly lively history of funerary rituals and mourning... These engaging essays offer valuable insights into the lives and deaths of ordinary men and women

Fascinating ... there surely won't be a better study of the subject than Conisbee's

A beautifully written and thought provoking journey through the world of death. It addresses our human compulsion to mark the end of life and how that has changed over time. It reminds us that often we are where we are, because of what others have chosen to do before us. Life affirming

No Ordinary Deaths is written with care, passion and clarity that fascinates and leaves the reader, perhaps surprisingly, with life-affirming awe. An excellent new addition to the social history bookshelves

Fascinating...a compelling work of social history, exploring how we died - and how we lived

By introducing us to the hidden histories of those who perished in obscurity, Conisbee provides fascinating glimpses of attitudes to death through the ages

A rich and moving history of our changing relationship to one of life's few certainties: death. Molly Conisbee is a sensitive and empathic guide as she encourages us to look to the past to deepen our understanding of loss and grief. A captivating read

A fascinating and moving account of the ways, over the last 500 years, people have prepared for death, and grieved and mourned for those who have already made that final journey

Molly Conisbee is a social historian and visiting research fellow at the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath. She has a PhD from the University of Bristol and has spent the last ten years researching the social history of death and mourning. Conisbee is also a bereavement counsellor, has curated walks on the history of death around the country and has written for the Guardian and Ecologist.