Necropolis

Product Description

From Roman burial rites to the horrors of the plague from the founding of the great Victorian cemeteries to the development of cremation & the current approach of metropolitan society towards death & bereavement -- including more recent trends to displays of collective grief & the cult of mourning such as that surrounding the death of Diana Princess of Wales -- NECROPOLIS: LONDON & ITS DEAD offers a vivid historical narrative of this great citys attitude to going the way of all flesh. As layer upon layer of London soil reveals burials from pre-historic & 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 & anecdote

Includes:: such phenomena as the rise of the undertaking trade & the pageantry of state funerals; public executions & bodysnatching. Ghoulishly entertaining & 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 & cultural commentary Necropolis will take its place alongside classics of the city such as Peter Ackroyds LONDON.