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.

Glennys Howarth

Introduction CHAPTER 1 Modern Death Rituals and the Undertaker CHAPTER 2 The Business of Funeral Directing CHAPTER 3 Funeral Directing in Easton CHAPTER 4 Becoming an Undertaker CHAPTER 5 The Contaminated Corpse CHAPTER 6 Making Arrangements CHAPTER 7 Humanizing the Body CHAPTER 8 The Funeral Ceremony CONCLUSION: The Undertaker: Past, Present, and Future Bibliography Index