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 The
Victorian Celebration of Death
In this finely-illustrated and well-researched book, Curl has
rescued much fascinating material from undeserved oblivion, and
his work fills a genuine gap. From humble working-class exequies
to the massive outpourings of grief at the State funerals of Wellington
and Queen Victoria herself, the book covers an immense canvas:
disposal of the dead as part of the great sanitary reforms of
the epoch (though given appropriate expression in cemeteries as
works of art); the history of the urban cemeteries with their
architecture and landscapes; the ephemera of death and dying (including
wreaths, mourning-cards and -jewellery, elaborate hearses crowded
with ostrich-feather plumes, mourning-dress, and much else); State
funerals as national spectacles; and the utilitarian reactions
towards the end of the nineteenth century. Combining wit with
compassion, Curl wears his learning lightly, and his taste for
the eerie is delicately balanced by his literary personality.
His achievement is as well-ordered as any sumptuous funeral, and
is lucid as well as entertaining, with many surprises and associated
delights. His robustly argued and beautifully written reportage
makes his unique and elegant book an agreeable companion to the
non-eternal bedside.
The Victorian Celebration of Death (Thrupp, Stroud:
Sutton Publishing Ltd 2004).
ISBN: 0-7509-3873-0 (pbk.)
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to purchase this book
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Reviews
'Written with infinite wisdom about the human condition, this
authoritative book sheds important new light on attitudes to death
from the "Graveyard" poets of the 18th century to the
funeral of Queen Victoria. A remarkably broad contribution to
cultural history, it spans the worlds of architecture, garden
design, poetry, religion, and manners'.
Professor David Watkin, University of Cambridge
'Most entertaining and enterprising...Curl has much to say of
interest...his book is entirely delightful'.
The Church Times
'No headstone or ledger has been left unturned in this profoundly
comprehensive study of the disposal of the dead in 19th-century
Britain. From the establishment of the cemetery movement in the
late 18th century through to the gaudy funeral cavalcades promoted
by the Victiorian undertaker, one is left in awe that Curl has
gleaned so much information this side of the grave'.
Julian Litten
'Curl's incomparable scholarship... brings to his subject a bold
imaginative sweep and breadth of inquiry. Woven into the text
is a sly and ironic commentary on the inadequacies of today's
rituals'.
Dr Jennifer Freeman, Director of The Historic Chapels Trust
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