The Victorians were familiar with death and, while they did not welcome it, they felt relatively at ease with it. This book looks at the background to Victorian ideas and at the way in which those beliefs were given substance in the funeral and through the practices of mourning. It sets out to show the extent to which funerals reflected the social divisions that were present within nineteenth-century society. There is much in this book to interest social historians, those with a concern for historical costume, and transport enthusiasts, for there is a section on the development of the horse-drawn hearse. About the author Trevor May is a freelance writer and lectures; he is the author of ten books on economic and social history. Other titles for Shire by this author are: Military Barracks The Victorian Domestic Servant, The Victorian Schoolroom The Victorian Railway Worker Victorian and Edwardian Horse Cabs The Victorian Workhouse. See also titles Discovering Epitpahs, Discovering Famous Graves and Sentimental Jewellery.