Overview

Written by Chris Woodyard, the author of The Victorian Book of the Dead, A is for Arsenic is a guide to the the basics of Victorian mourning and death all illustrated by the incomparable Landis Blair. Each entry includes a pen and ink illustration along with 19th century anecdotes ranging from macabre stories to jokes from the Victorian press. (Plus sinister little poems in homage to Edward Gorey.) ""A is For Arsenic"" covers topics including post-mortem photography, embalming, bodysnatching tips, what to wear when in mourning, and how long to mourn for someone who has left you money in their will. The book also debunks several Victorian mourning myths. There are 26 alphabetical entries-from Arsenic to Zinc, (see below) along with an informative glossary, appendix, and detailed bibliography. Here are the topics: A - Arsenic; B - Bier; C - Crape; D - Death Token; E - Embalming; F - Fisk Burial Case; G - Gates Ajar; H - Hearse; I - Ice Box; J - Jet; K - Keen; L - Lychgate; M - Mute; N - Necropolis; O - Obelisk; P - Post Mortem; Q - Queen Victoria; R - Resurrection Men; S - Shroud; T - Tear Bottle; U - Undertaker; V - Veil; X - Sexton; W - Weepers; Y - Churchyard; Z - Zinc Appendix: Mourning Etiquette Glossary Bibliography Chris Woodyard, author of The Victorian Book of the Dead, answers your dead-serious questions including: How long should you mourn for someone who left you money in their will? Why did body snatchers strip a body before carrying it away? What was a coffin torpedo? Were mourning clothes poisonous? What is inheritance powder? Who killed off keening? What is dead water? An A to Z delight for lovers of the macabre!

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9780988192546

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Chris Woodyard is an historian of death and the supernatural. Author of The Victorian Book of the Dead, The Ghost Wore Black: Ghastly Tales from the Past, plus 11 books on Ohio ghostlore, including the Haunted Ohio series. Chris co-hosts ""Boggart and Banshee: A Supernatural Podcast"" with Simon Young. Twitter: @hauntedohiobook Blog: https: //thevictorianbookofthedead.wordpress.com Facebook: The Victorian Book of the Dead, Haunted Ohio by Chris Woodyard Podcast: Boggart and Banshee: A Supernatural Podcast YouTube: Ghost and Grave Landis Blair is the illustrator and author of The Night Tent, Vers le Sud, and The Envious Siblings: and Other Morbid Nursery Rhymes, as well as the illustrator of the New York Times bestseller From Here to Eternity, by Caitlin Doughty and the graphic novel The Hunting Accident, by David Carlson which won the 2021 Fauve d'Or and the 2020 Quai des Bulles prize. His illustrations have appeared in numerous print and online periodicals including The New Yorker, the New York Times, Chicago magazine, and Atlas Obscura. He lives in Chicago.

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