Committed to the Cleansing Flame: The Development of Cremation in Nineteenth-Century England - Softcover

Parsons, Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1904965040 ISBN 13: 9781904965046

Publisher: Spire Books, 2005

Synopsis

Overcrowded churchyards, shortage of land and rapidly increasing population how could the late Victorians dispose of their dead? Cremation was the only answer. But today, with over two-thirds of all deaths being followed by cremation, it is hard to appreciate the massive struggles faced by the Cremation Society after its foundation in 1874. Religious bigotry, legal obstacles and sheer moral outrage all stood in the way. But interest grew, and aided by the work of others, including the acts of a flamboyant Welsh Druid, the first cremator was available for public use in 1885 at Woking. This book is the first full-length study of these events and how cremation developed into an acceptable and dignified way to dispose of the dead. It tells of the arrangements for early cremations and the progress of the movement down to the passing of the first Cremation Act in 1902 when London finally received its first crematorium. It is extensively illustrated including many rarely seen images.

About this title

About the Author

by Brian Parsons, with a foreword by the Rt Hon Earl Grey

Review

This masterly work is the first detailed history of the subject...After meticulous research by the author, its 328 pages reveal hitherto unpublished pictures and facts on the history of English cremation in general and of the Woking Crematorium in particular.' (June Sampson Surrey Comet (South London Newspapers))

well researched ... I look forward to reading the next book which I hope will detail the development of cremation in Twentieth-Century England.' (Paul Stubbs Resurgam, 2005)

Brian Parsons has written a well researched, scholarly book detailing the struggles surrounding the acceptance of cremation in England from the mid-1870s to the early 1900s.(...)...I highly recommend this book.' (Richard E. Pfrender AGS Quarterly, volume 32,No 1 & 2, Winter/Spring 2008)

Edition details

• Publisher: Spire Books
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1904965040
• ISBN 13: 9781904965046
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328