Life After Death: The Art of the Obituary

In recent years, the obituary has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence in literary prestige and popularity with readers. As David Bowman, a distinguished Australian editor and journalist, says: 'In the English-speaking world, a newspaper of quality hardly seems complete these days without a regular obituary page.' This lively book by Dr Nigel Starck is the first to explore the evolution of the obituary in the English-language press. Its author, a journalist and scholar who is one of the world's foremost experts on the form of the obituary, traces its evolution through extracts drawn from newspapers and journals published since 1625. The characteristic wit, charm, candour and cultural significance of the obituary art are explored and analysed with many engaging examples. Painstakingly researched in newspaper archives on three continents, "Life After Death" includes the full texts of notable obituaries published in Britain, the United States and Australia. The subjects of these obits range from the famous to the obscure, from the evil and infamous to the plain unlucky.