Beyond the Veil: The Victorian Obsession with Death and Mourning by Gambino, Paul
Beyond the Veil: The Victorian Obsession with Death and Mourning by Gambino, Paul

Beyond the Veil: The Victorian Obsession with Death and Mourning

Beyond the Veil is a visual tour through the curious history of how we deal with death--the...
$44.67 AUD
$44.67 AUD
Please hurry! Only 19 left in stock
Author: Paul Gambino
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Subtotal: $44.67

Free Shipping (Orders $60 USD or More)

Beyond the Veil: The Victorian Obsession with Death and Mourning by Gambino, Paul

Beyond the Veil: The Victorian Obsession with Death and Mourning

$44.67
Beyond the Veil: The Victorian Obsession with Death and Mourning by Gambino, Paul

Beyond the Veil: The Victorian Obsession with Death and Mourning

$44.67
Author: Paul Gambino
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Description

Beyond the Veil is a visual tour through the curious history of how we deal with death--the grief and mourning, the funerals, symbols, and ceremonies.

From Victorian England across to the US, learn about the often peculiar and at times macabre ways of how the living memorialize the dead.

Humans have always had ways of marking death, but in Victorian England death became a morbid obsession that went global--death was as much 'celebrated' as it was a source of fear and sadness. Queen Victoria herself became a figurehead of grief after the death of her beloved Prince Albert in 1861. Her ensuing fascination with death took many visual forms--from her ritualized embrace of black clothing to the building of ostentatious monuments--and massively influenced cultural norms in both the UK and further afield.

The Victorians built complex cemeteries, collected precious memento mori, commissioned bizarre death portraits, and obsessed over the correct mourning attire and funerary protocol, while turn-of-the century America saw reflections of many of these cultural phenomena. The bestsellers of the period were often about life and death (think Frankenstein and Dracula), while the art, architecture, and style--with its often dark and heavy gothic overtones--revelled in the glamorization of death. Beyond the Veil brings this extraordinarily elaborate and stylised visual culture together while expertly explaining and elaborating on its most peculiar and fascinating aspects.

For example, it explores:
  • The influence of Queen Victoria's personal mourning on fashion and social custom.
  • The rise of Victorian cemeteries and funerary architecture.
  • The art of memento mori and post-mortem photography.
  • The emergence of spiritualism, seances and afterlife communication.
  • The fascination with gothic literature, symbolism and the romanticization of death.


Beautifully illustrated throughout with archival photography, artworks and design, Beyond the Veil is a must-have for lovers of history, art, and the macabre. It invites readers to step into the shadows of the past and discover how Victorian mourning shaped our modern relationship with grief and remembrance.



Author: Paul Gambino
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Published: 09/16/2025
Pages: 208
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.58lbs
Size: 9.06h x 6.99w x 0.98d
ISBN: 9781836004226


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/27/2025

About the Author

US-based Paul Gambino has been an avid collector of the bizarre for over 20 years with an extensive collection of Victorian memorial photographs, antique funeria, mug shots, and vintage religious items (including a life-sized St. Sebastian and Virgin Mary salvaged from a 19th-century church in Pennsylvania).


Shipping & Return

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Review

Related Products

Example product title
$44.67 AUD
$44.67 AUD
Example product title
$44.67 AUD
$44.67 AUD
Example product title
$44.67 AUD
$44.67 AUD
Example product title
$44.67 AUD
$44.67 AUD
Example product title
$44.67 AUD
$44.67 AUD
Example product title
$44.67 AUD
$44.67 AUD
Example product title
$44.67 AUD
$44.67 AUD
Example product title
$44.67 AUD
$44.67 AUD
Example product title
$44.67 AUD
$44.67 AUD
Example product title
$44.67 AUD
$44.67 AUD

Recently Viewed Products