Your Search Results

      • Business, Economics & Law
        January 2018

        The Evolution of the British Funeral Industry in the 20th Century

        From Undertaker to Funeral Director

        by Brian Parsons

        The Evolution of the British Funeral Industry in the 20th Century examines the shifts that have taken place in the funeral industry since 1900, focusing on the figure of the undertaker and exploring how organizational change and attempts to gain recognition as a professional service provider saw the role morph into that of ‘funeral director’. As the disposal of the dead increased in complexity during the twentieth century, the role of the undertaker/funeral director has mirrored this change. Whilst the undertaker of 1900 primarily encoffined and transported the body, today’s funeral director provides other services, such as taking responsibility for the body of the deceased and embalming, and has overseen changes such as the increasing preference for cremation, the impact of technology on the production of coffins and the shift to motorized transport. These factors, together with the problem of succession for some family-run funeral businesses, have led large organizations to make acquisitions and manage funerals on a centralized basis, achieving economies of scale. This book examines how the occupation has sought to reposition itself and how the ‘funeral director’ has become an essential functionary in funerary practices. However, despite striving for new-found status the role is hindered by two key issues: the stigma of handling the dead, and the perception of making a profit from loss.

      • Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

        The Best of All Possible Worlds

        by Emilio Lezama / English Translation by Tanya Huntington

        He is from Mexico. She is from Ecuador. He is a sales insurance agent who would have loved to be a philosopher. She is a well-known artist. They meet in Washington DC, but soon they have to part ways. He tries desperately to save the relationship and ends up involved in a Latin American presidential campaign, and a centuries-long debate between Newton and Leibniz. He has no idea how he got there. All he wanted was to save his relationship, now the fate of a country depends on him.  This is the story of falling apart. This is the story of being too late. A story of how things that could have happened often affect us more than those that do. This is a story of politics in Latin America, philosophy in Europe and love everywhere. This is a story about being sorry.  A story about being human.

      Subscribe to our

      newsletter