"This is a thoughtful study that attempts to deal with subjects of major import ... no one will come away from this book without new ideas and perceptions about the nature of bereavement, how it is commemorated through material culture and how these objects have been interpreted." Times Higher Education Supplement

"... [an] extremely important contribution to the fast-growing field of post-medieval death studies." Archaeological Journal

"A stimulating read." Post-Medieval Archaeology

"Tarlow's book is heartening evidence that bereavement research need not stay in a narrow ghetto." Bereavement Care

"Throughout, there is a sense of the writer's own humanity ... There is a great deal of interest to be found in this book and it is to be hoped that it will encourage others who choose death as their subject to be as humane in the way they write about it." Folklore