The Dead and the Living in Paris and London, 1500–1670

by Vanessa Harding

This innovative work of social history is about the burial of the dead, and suggests why it is such an important historical issue. Vanessa Harding focuses on the turbulent worlds of early modern London and Paris, and makes use of rich contemporary documentation to compare and contrast their experience of dealing with the dead, profoundly questioned by the impact of the Reformation. Dr. Harding shows the over-arching importance of place and location, and of an urban social setting in which consumption and display were manifest everywhere, in shaping funeral ritual.

360 pages, Paperback

First published June 20, 2002

About the author

Vanessa Harding is professor of London history at Birkbeck College, University of London. Her research has focused on death and burial in London and Paris and she has written widely on the subject in academic journals and in book form.

Reviews

[Geof Sage · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have been better without Paris, as is true of so many things.