Death and the Victorians - A Dark Fascination

by Adrian Mackinder

From spooky stories and real-life ghost hunting, to shows about murder and serial killers, we are fascinated by death - and we owe these modern obsessions to the Victorian age.
Death and the Victorians explores a period in history when the search for the truth about what lies beyond our mortal realm was matched only by the imagination and invention used to find it.
Walk among London’s festering graveyards, where the dead were literally rising from the grave. Visit the Paris Morgue, where thousands flocked to view the spectacle of death every single day.
Lift the veil on how spirits were invited into the home, secret societies taught ways to survive death, and the latest science and technology was applied to provide proof of the afterlife.
Find out why the Victorian era is considered the golden age of the ghost story, exemplified by tales from the likes of Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Oscar Wilde and Henry James.
Discover how the birth of the popular press nurtured our taste for murder and that Jack the Ripper was actually a work of pure Gothic horror fiction crafted by cynical Victorian newspapermen.
Death and the Victorians exposes the darker side of the nineteenth century, a time when the living were inventing incredible ways to connect with the dead that endure to this day.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

224 pages, Hardcover

Published January 30, 2024

Reviews

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death and the Victorians is an entertaining and interesting read. It covers a wide range of topics including cemeteries, the occult and spiritualism, photography(eg. posing the dead in photos), ghost stories, the rise of sensationalist newspapers and penny dreadfuls, and of course Jack the Ripper. Many literary references.

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hundreds of years ago, at university, I did a course on Death and Mourning in Victorian Literature. I've been obsessed ever since. Give me an opportunity to talk about the overcrowding of graveyards in Victorian London and I'm there for twenty minutes minimum. This tapped right into my interests. I enjoyed the book. I think it's a great book for people who are starting to get interested in the subject. It struck the right note between scholarly and telling a great story. I would have liked to have seen a chapter on mourning rituals, which were so interesting in the way they kept women trapped in an ever increasing and complex ritual of behaviours that trapped her as much as the ideals of what a home maker should be. But for a short volume that covers many of the main points that created a fascinating time in human history, it's a great read.

[MKF · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first few chapters were interesting even though I already knew the majority of the information. The last few chapters of the book dragged so it was a bit of a struggle to finish the book.

[Kitty Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book but have the mark in down due to the tangents the author goes on. There are part of the book that are connected to death and the victorians but pages where dedicated to but other parts that where summed up in a paragraph or two but should have been more explored. Regardless i enjoyed the book and was very happy to have read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Published for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are you the kind of person that finds the Victorian obsession with death fascinating? Do you harbour a longing to take a stroll around Highgate Cemetery, London before you shuffle off this mortal coil? Then this is the book for you. Looking at the period of history from just before Queen Victoria took the throne to the outbreak of the First World War, the author examines the Victorian attitude towards death including the designing & building of huge cemeteries to replace the crumbling old churchyards, the practice of taking photographs of the recently deceased, the rise of spiritualism, & the growing popularity of the ghost story & 'Penny Dreadfuls'. It's mainly UK-centric although there is quite a bit about the Paris Morgue & the underground catacombs, plus the Hyde sisters in the US.

It seems weird to type this, given the subject matter, but this book made me LOL several times. It's quite humorous at times in tone but there's lots of intriguing information including the fact that the Victorians could be rather creepily morbid at times. One example is that of a building over an old crypt, where up to 20,000 people had been interred, being turned into a dance hall & dances were held titled 'Dancing on the Dead'! Makes the TV show Dancing on Ice sound positively prosaic. Or how about the Parisians who thought a trip to the Paris Morgue was a fun day out! Out of all the chapters, I thought that the last one on Jack the Ripper & the epilogue worked the least - they seemed a little rushed compared to the others. Overall though, it was a really interesting read & I would recommend it to anyone interested in Victorian history.

My thanks to NetGalley & publisher, Pen & Sword History, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and well written - I enjoyed listening to the author doing the audiobook, as it captured the intended tone for each section, sometimes leaning towards brevity and sometimes providing appropriate solmenity.

A bit unfocused at times, but as someone who likes to consume all things Victorian history, it didn't bother me too much. Not too much focus on grisly details or shock value. For example, the most upsetting story (to me) was actually a fascinating history of the legalization of cremation in Britain - a misunderstanding and not the horrifying scene that it appeared to be initially.

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death And The Victorians by Adrian Mackinder is a well written book on the practices of burying their dead during the Victorian age. This book is so good from how they started cremating their dead to having better burying practices from what they did with their deceased battle victims to strange displays of dead bodies to the incredulous thing some did with others dead loved ones. She even talks about the building of popular cemeteries. This is a great book and one I found very interesting and highly entertaining there’s way too much stuff in this book for me to put in my review but I do want to say before ending this review that I love the way this author writes you can tell she loves the subject she is riding a bow but does not give weight to big emotions and or generalizations but writes the information that’s factual as she gets it she also states in the book that she wrote this during a busy life with two children and a full-time job and if this is what she writes when her tank is running solo I cannot wait to see what she writes in the future. Her first book was about Stanley from marble which I am definitely going to read I do believe this is my year for great authors because I have found a few where are usually at this time only one or two would be notable I now have a list of nine authors that I follow and would buy anything they write and this author Adrian Mackinder is now one of them needless to say this is the book I highly recommend I want to thank pin and sword history and net galley for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death and the Victorians by Adrian Mackinder is an engrossing book about how death was viewed and dealt with during a particularly macabre awakening in the era. But we, too, are fascinated by the process of death.

This was the Golden Age of ghosts, communicating with the dead, sensationalism and death depicted in literature, theatre and art. Faith and spiritualism were at the forefront. Unprecedented numbers of bodies from wars, plagues, crimes and industrial accidents necessitated better and more sanitary burial standards. Law changes prompted lucrative body snatching and murder just to earn money from medical men.

Private garden cemeteries and morgues became important and some are open to wandering to this day. I've visited many old catacombs, cemeteries and ossuaries and wonder what the people were like and how they lived.

Macabre photographs really personalize the grief and suffering Victorian families endured and the lengths they went to to keep their loved ones close. Bodies of the deceased were propped up and the pallor of those living were made to fade into the background. Photographs were often the best (or worst) way to preserve memories.

The press played a pivotal role in sensationalism and news, including Jack the Ripper. Occult societies sprang up.

If this topic intrugues you, don't allow this book to slip through your fingers.

My sincere thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this smashing book.

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is insanely entertaining, informative and well researched. I’ve always felt a strange fascination with Victorian times, so this read was like a time machine that allowed me to look at the people who lived those lives. The author makes a good case for the way Victoriana has influenced us through the years, including our views on life and death, our fascination with the supernatural and even the true crime podcasts that started only recently. Despite being centered on Victorian England, there is information about France and the US, including how views on the same subjects were similar and how they differed. I especially enjoyed the parts about literature and how it influenced media reports. Three of the books mentioned here: Dracula, The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Portrait of Dorian Grey are favorites, so it was fascinating to see how the coverage of the Jack the Ripper murders was shaped by them. The author also answered my question about how intelligent people could have fallen for obvious frauds trying to speak to the dead. I truly enjoyed this.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Pen & Sword History.

[Erinn H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death and the Victorians covers a lot of ground in an easily digestible and entertaining way. It covers a range of topics that ultimately gives the reader a good sense and overview of Victorian attitudes and beliefs about death and the afterlife. I felt like each topic covered could easily be covered in a book of its own because there was so much covered, but the author gives plenty of recommendations for further reading beyond his analysis. This book could act as a great introduction to anyone new to the Victorian era or their specific attitudes and beliefs.

My only nitpicky issue is that I am not a huge fan of overly conversational tones in books about historical topics. That’s a personal preference - I could see some readers enjoying it. But this one veered a little too much in that direction, even including information about how Halloween was/wasn’t celebrated in his town during his childhood and his love for it now. But, even still, that didn’t detract from the fun of the book, and I still found it both engaging and informative.

*I received a free eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Pen & Sword History, and Adrian Mackinder for the opportunity to review this title!*

[J Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death and the Victorians by Adrian Mackinder is a nice overview of not simply the view(s) of death during the Victorian Age but how those sensibilities have largely remained with us today, though often changed to imply more difference than there really is.

Much of the material may well be familiar to readers with an interest in either the topic or the period but that doesn't mean the book isn't both interesting and a useful contribution to the field. Few of us have all of the things we "know" readily available to mind, though when we see it we remember it. This volume brings this information along with some new research and a nuanced perspective to both those new to it and those of us familiar to some degree. I like books that bring information together to make a point or understanding rather than assume every reader not only knows but remembers the details. Plus I now have a nice handy reference for much of this.

Recommended for those who have an interest in the Victorian Age, the changing perception and activity surrounding death, and/or those who want to know some of the original ideas behind how we currently understand our relationship to death and the dead.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I'm a huge fan of nonfiction books about death, dying, mourning, etc. I'm also a huge fan of Victorian culture and history. Death and the Victorians provides an excellent introduction to the intersection of these topics in a very readable form. Many books about death infantilize the reader or are written for a scholarly audience-- Death and the Victorians never takes either tone, instead it chooses to present its information in an enticing narrative that is easy to follow but provides plenty of opportunity to stop and make notes or digest what you just read.

Adrian Mackinder very clearly knows their material, and I'm thrilled to have had the chance to read this book. Even though I spend a lot of time reading books about both topics, I still learned new information here. The sections on private funerals and death photography were incredibly interesting. Totally worth the read for experienced enjoyers of, as well as beginners to, morbid nonfiction.

Thank you to Pen and Sword History as well as the author for providing me with a digital arc for this review. I'll look forward to buying a physical copy for my collection.

[Georgi_Lvs_Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

‘Even if death arrived after a long life well lived, or is actively welcomed due to illness, pain or suffering - sadness and loss always pervades. In contemplating what happens when you die, spare a thought not for those who pass away, but those who still live on.’

I adore reading about the Victorian era and with just the title alone I knew I NEEDED this book.

Reading about Edinburgh/Burke & Hare was great :)

It was interesting to see how death had changed over time.

This book has added many more books to by TBR and has made me want to do some travelling as I enjoy visiting graves/researching them.

‘During the early part of the nineteenth century, the dead were either the stuff of nightmares, piled up in such numbers they polluted the realm of the living; or raw materials, callously traded for coin, only to be stripped and reduced to chunks of meat to be dissected and prodded for knowledge.’

A must read for history readers and those with a curiosity for death and the Victorians.

[Louise Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fascinating book covers the physical aspects of death as well as the mystical. It’s a great combination of facts about the practicalities of disposing of bodies through to the spiritualist movement and how “those left behind” come to terms with loss. I loved the information on the Paris Catacombs and the ways in which burials were managed in overcrowded London graveyards, as well as the details of Resurrection Men and what their practices meant for the legal framework. It’s well researched and there is a tone of humour in the writing style which actually works really well for such a dark topic. A great read!

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've studied the Victorians at all, you will probably know a lot of these stories. It is, not surprisingly, very Euro-centric. Very focused on England with all of the, what we would call nowadays, weirdness: seances, memento moris, and the scare of Jack the Ripper.
I was disappointed that there were topics that weren't more deeply delved into (not Jack the Ripper, as Mackinder says, that has been well-covered.) This book is shorter than many nonfiction books and could have stood with more pages. I did appreciate that one chapter was mainly dedicated to books of the time that focused on death.

[Conrad Molden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adrian’s voice takes any reader on a rollercoaster ride through the Victorian fascination with death. Not in my list of interests I was initially skeptical but immediately pulled into his excellent storytelling and wide range of topics. The book is as much Adrian’s view as it is the history itself. Every chapter is freshly, lively and written with passion. So many interesting cracks and crevices are explored that one finishes the book feeling enriched and with a belly full of laughs. Thoroughly recommend, a gorgeous blend of history, dark comedy and one man’s serious fascination with the other worldly.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have an affinity for social history, mortuary rituals, and the interplay of religion and society, “Death and the Victorians” is a must-read. While it may be a tad academic at times, its thorough research and engaging storytelling make it an entertaining and informative read.
It's the perfect book if you love social history, if you are into goth culture o want to know more about how this time changed the way of life.
I found fascinating the part about the photo with the dead.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been intrigued by death customs for years and this book touched on several of my favorite topics. There were mentions of details and topics which I found myself wanting to explore further. Especially interesting was the chapter on Victorian ghost stories. I found several suggestions for future readings to enjoy!
Overall I would have just liked it to be longer, it's a great subject to write on.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to be publishers - Pen & Sword, Pen & Sword History – for giving me access to this book as an E-ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Quite fascinating about the perception of death in Victorian times – a time where death was more present for a majority than it (luckily) is today. Although it is a short book it covers many different views on death and the dead during this time period. It’s clearly visible that Mackinder has done his research.

[Andrea Wenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This engrossing and informative book explores the Victorian fascination with death, from ghost stories to early murder obsessions, that still captivate us today. It delves into the era’s blend of Gothic imagination and invention as people pursued the spectral. It’s a spooky, fun, and easy read.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and learning about all the ways the victorians viewed and subsequently changed our views about death. This was so well written and wasn't dry like some non fiction can be. Thanks Netgalley

[Jan Bloxham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inpressively dense with information and presented in excellent prose, Victorians is an entertaining read from cover to cover.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley.

Death and the Victorians by Adrian Mackinder is a nonfiction book around Victorian attitudes around death and connecting the threads to previous beliefs and modern practices. The cremation aspect was quite interesting and I am now interested in doing my own research into the topic.

The necropolises of Great Britain were new information for me as was when reincarnation was introduced to England and by who and I enjoyed the connections made between ectoplasm in Ghostbusters and Victorian spirituality.

I was originally concerned that the book would dismiss the victims of Jack the Ripper due to the wording of the summary, but Mackinder names all five of the Canonical Five, explicitly states that they deserve more attention, and directs readers who want to give the spotlight to those women to read The Five by Hallie Rubenhold.

I would recommend this to those doing research on the Victorian era, spirituality in England, and the White Chapel murders.