Peter Stanford shows us how to read a graveyard, what to look out for in our own, and how even the most initially unpromising exploration can enthral.

Pru's husband has walked out, leaving her alone to contemplate her future. She's missing not so much him, but the life they once had - picnicking on the beach with small children, laughing together, nestling up like spoons in the cutlery drawer as they sleep. Now there's just a dip on one side of the bed and no-one to fill it. In a daze, Pru goes off to a friend's funeral. Usual old hymns, words of praise and a eulogy but - it doesn't sound like the...

This volume of poetry provides a collection of funeral poems, appropriate for reading at a funeral or memorial service.

On a remote island, off the coast of County Mayo, along with reports of incoming Atlantic storms, the local radio station runs a thrice-daily roll-call of the recently departed. The islanders have no fear of death. They go in great numbers, often with young children, to wake with their dead. They keep vigil through the night with the corpse and share in the sorrow of the bereaved. They bear the burden of the coffin on their shoulders and dig the grave...

Offering an historical narrative of London's attitude to going the way of all flesh, this book blends archaeology, architecture and anecdotes in order to document the rise of the undertaking trade, covering everything from the pageantry of state funerals to public executions and bodysnatching.

Andy Larkham is late for the funeral of his favourite school teacher. Life is hard for Andy: stuck in a dead-end job, terminally short of cash and with a fiancee who is about to ditch him. When the funeral leads to unexpected consequences, Andy has to ask himself: how far will he go to change his life?

Fuelled by a childhood fascination with death, journalist Hayley Campbell searches for answers from the people who choose to make a living by working with the dead. Along the way, Campbell encounters funeral directors, embalmers, a man who dissects cadavers for anatomy students, and a former executioner who is responsible for ending 62 lives. She holds a brain at an autopsy, visits a cryonics facility in Michigan, and goes for late-night Chinese with...

In her previous two books, Professor Alice Roberts has powerfully and evocatively revived people of the past through examining their burial rites, bringing a fresh perspective on how they lived. In 'Crypt', she tells the story of Britain from 1066 to the present day - by exploring changing methods of honouring the dead. Beautifully written, vividly drawn, and expertly researched, this is a brilliant and unexpected portrait of modern Britain.

'Dostadning', or the art of death cleaning, is a Swedish phenomenon by which the elderly and their families set their affairs in order. Whether it's sorting the family heirlooms from the junk, downsizing to a smaller place, or setting up a system to help you stop misplacing your keys, death cleaning gives us the chance to make the later years of our lives as comfortable and stress-free as possible. Whatever your age, Swedish death cleaning can be...