Ordinary Lives, Death, and Social Class: Dublin City Coroner's Court, 1876-1902

The book Ordinary Lives, Death, and Social Class explores the evolution of the Dublin City Coroner's Court and Dr. Louis A. Byrne's first two years in office, using gender, power, and blame as analytical frameworks to examine inquests from lifecycle and class perspectives. The inquests reveal histories from both above and below, providing a rich geographical, socio-economic, cultural, class, and medical detail of ordinary lives.

Format: Hardback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 23 June 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

The book "Ordinary Lives, Death, and Social Class" delves into the evolution of the Dublin City Coroner's Court and the experiences of Dr. Louis A. Bryne during his initial two years in office. It revolves around the 1901 census, employing gender, power, and blame as analytical frameworks to explore the insights that inquests can provide regarding the impact of urban living from lifecycle and class perspectives. Coroners' inquests are a unique blend of eyewitness testimony, expert medico-legal language, and intricate details about individuals, places, and occupational identities, all anchored to a specific moment in time. Consequently, they possess the simultaneous ability to uncover histories from both above and below. These meticulously compiled records, gathered in a liminal setting around the hour of death, offer a profound testament to what has often been referred to as "ordinary lives." The subjects of Dr. Byrne's court were among the most impoverished in Ireland, and this volume encompasses preventable cases of workplace accidents, neglect, domestic abuse, and homicide, among other societal issues.

Weight: 588g
Dimension: 240 x 162 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198865780