Australian Ways of Death: A Social and Cultural History 1840-1918

Pat Jalland

Australian Ways of Death: a Social and Cultural History 1840-1918 describes how Australians in the past came to terms with death within the constraints and cultural perspectives of their own times. This book is the result of intensive research into where and how people have died in Australia, how they have been buried, mourned, and commemorated, and how social and regional factors have influenced mortality rates and people's consciousness of death and loss.

Historians in other western societies have responded to the growing interest and concern with death through books, conferences, and journals. However, Australian Ways of Death is the first substantial Australian study of social and cultural responses to death.

Written in a clear and engaging style, this book is published at a time of debate on such subjects as euthanasia and youth suicide. as Pat Jalland writes: 'A study of dying and responses to death takes us to the heart of the history of any culture and sharpens our understanding of our own experience.'