The Dead and the Living in Paris and London, 1500}}}1670 [Hardcover]

This 2002 book is an exploration in social history, showing how the practices surrounding death can illumine urban culture.This innovative work of social history is about the burial of the dead, and suggests why this 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 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.This innovative work of social history is about the burial of the dead, and suggests why this 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 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.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.List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Note on spelling, sums of money, etc.; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. London and Paris, the setting of life and deathló-