The Undiscovered Country

The Undiscovered Country

Journeys Among the Dead

Summary

‘This is a wonderful book: curious and insightful’ Ian Mortimer, author of The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England

We know what happens to the body when we die, but what happens to the soul? The answer may remain a great unknown, but the question has shaped centuries of tradition, folklore and religious belief.

In this vivid history of the macabre, Carl Watkins goes in search of the ancient customs, local characters and compelling tales that illuminate how people over the years have come to terms with our ultimate fate. The result is an enthralling journey into Britain’s past, from medieval hauntings on the Yorkshire moors and eccentric memorials on the Cornish coast to séances in Victorian kitchens and gallows tales from a Bristol gaol. Impeccably researched and elegantly told, The Undiscovered Country ventures beyond the veil to bring the dead back to life.

Reviews

  • A first-class study of British attitudes to death and dying from the Middle Ages to the 20th century... A fascinating work of social history that is both scholarly and accessible to general readers
    Financial Times

About the author

Carl Watkins

Carl Watkins is Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Cambridge, and a fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge. His books include History and the Supernatural in Medieval England and, most recently, The Undiscovered Country: Journeys Among the Dead. He appears regularly on BBC radio and television.
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