Death, Grief and Poverty in Britain, 1870–1914

This compelling historical study dismantles the long-held assumption that Britain's Victorian and Edwardian poor were emotionally hardened to death by its frequency. Julie-Marie Strange meticulously reconstructs the mourning practices of the working class, arguing that poverty actually intensified grief rather than numbing it. The book provides a poignant social history of death, examining the care of the corpse, funeral customs, and the significance of the cemetery in working-class communities. It draws on a broad range of sources to give voice to a segment of society often silenced in historical narratives.

What makes this work particularly powerful is its focus on the emotional lives of ordinary people, challenging the top-down view of history that often caricatures the poor. The chapter on high infant mortality rates is especially moving, offering a nuanced look at parental love and loss that contradicts simplistic notions of detachment. Readers interested in social history, the Victorian era, and the history of emotion will find a deeply human and rigorously researched account. This book fundamentally reshapes our understanding of how grief was experienced and expressed in the face of overwhelming hardship.