Suicide in Victorian and Edwardian England

The first serious historical study of a central human problem, this book opens new avenues for understanding the nature of--and responses to--suicidal behavior as it charts unexplored terrain in the general history of death. Using an unusual array of historical techniques and sources, including coroners' private case papers, Olive Anderson examines in turn four key elements in the study of suicide: suicide rates and distribution, individual experiences, social attitudes, and efforts at prevention. Her lucid and humane approach to this sensitive subject affords unique perspectives on the significance of time, place, age, and gender; on law, literature, medicine, and collective mentalities; and on the police, philanthropy, and public policy in Victorian and Edwardian England.