Grave Matters

A curious collection of 500 actual epitaphs, from which we learn of grieving spouses, fatal gluttony, vengeful relations, and all manner of partin commentary

People have wanted to have the last word from the beginning of time—and they’ve been writing their own for almost as long. Their wise, witty and often bizarre last messages have now been immortalized in Grave Matters, this wonderfully entertaining collection of epitaphs taken from headstones, church records and historical accounts in the United States and the British Isles.
 
The epitaphs in Grave Matters span four centuries, and make memorable use of poetry, epigrams and surprising turns of phrase to make parting comments that range from the wry . . .
 
On the 29th of November,
A confounded piece of timber
Came down, bang slam,
And killed I, John Lamb.
Huntingdon, England
1700
 
to the satisfied. . . .
 
THOMAS ALLEYN AND HIS TWO WIVES
Death here advantage hath of life I spye,
One husband with two wifes at once may lye.
Witchingham, England
1650
 
to the short and sweet. . . .

Going, But Know Not Where
Putnam, CT.
1918
 
A fascinating look at the way people lived and died in days gone by, Grave Matters is the perfect addition to any library for the literary, the learned and (especially) the living.