Last Rites

Provides a unique tableau of the funeral director's world. As such, it is a contribution to the growing literature on death and dying. Like the study of deviance which aids understanding of the norms of society, the sociology of death uncovers many insights into the very structures and patterns which shape life.

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First Published in 2017. This book examines death rituals and the social significance of undertaking in western society and presents an ethnographic account of funeral directing in an area of east London which, for the purposes of anonymity. It is concerned with undertakers' perceptions and organization of death rituals.