History is dominated by the A-list deaths – Queens beheaded, Archdukes assassinated. But what about everyone else? How did ordinary people through history prepare for the end, depart this life, grieve their loved ones and imagine what came next?

From the professional death-watchers of the middle ages to the fabulous Victorian funeral garments that kick-started fast fashion, historian and bereavement counsellor Molly Conisbee explores how cycles of dying, death and disposal shaped not just the lives of our ancestors, but their beliefs, politics and societies too.

Richly told, deeply researched, No Ordinary Deaths uses the stories of everyday people – from a condemned criminal to a Welsh folklorist and a grieving daughter in 1880s London – to open a window into the hopes, fears and wishes of our forebears, and in the process, bring death … to life.