How Our Ancestors Died by Simon Wills

How Our Ancestors Died

by Simon Wills

What were the principal causes of death in the past? Could your ancestor have been affected? How was disease investigated and treated, and what did our ancestors think about the illnesses and the accidents that might befall them? Simon Wills's fascinating survey of the diseases that had an impact on their lives seeks to answer these questions. His graphic, detailed account offers an unusual and informative view of the threats that our ancestors lived with and died of. He describes the common causes of death - cancer, cholera, dysentery, influenza, malaria, scurvy, smallpox, stroke, tuberculosis, typhus, yellow fever, venereal disease and the afflictions of old age. Alcoholism is included, as are childbirth and childhood infections, heart disease, mental illness and dementia. Accidents feature prominently - road and rail accidents, accidents at work - and death through addiction and abuse is covered as well as death through violence and war. Simon Wills's work gives a vivid picture of the hazards our ancestors faced and their understanding of them.
It also reveals how life and death have changed over the centuries, how medical science has advanced so that some once-mortal illnesses are now curable while others are just as deadly now as they were then. In addition to describing causes of death and setting them in the context of the times, his book shows readers how to find and interpret patient records, death certificates and other documents in order to gain an accurate impression of how their ancestors died.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

5 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

How Our Ancestors Died: A Guide for Family Historians is a very well written, information dense, layman accessible tome aimed at genealogists and family historians presented by Dr. Simon Wills. Originally published in 2013, this reformat and re-release is due out 28th Feb 2021 from Pen & Sword. It's 240 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

I'm a medical professional and I work in pathology. The study of disease is literally my day job. I also happen to be a huge history nerd and my family hail from the British Isles, so this book was a happy confluence of interests for me. I learned quite a lot here and it's no stretch to imagine that the author is a gifted speaker/teacher. His style throughout the book is information rich but not pedantic and he has a rare gift of highlighting salient points without just drowning the reader in less useful information or getting bogged down in minutiae.

The introductory chapters give good background information on the often lacking scientific accuracy of medical care and diagnostics in centuries past. In these chapters the author provides good background info on the normal historical methods of recording information and where and how modern seekers can access the information (and what records are likely to be available and from whom).

The following chapters are arranged by cause of death, roughly alphabetically, and range from Accidents & Disasters to War & Wounds, with pretty much everything else one could imagine in between. The chapters are well supported with attributed quotes (for further reading) and photographs and facsimile documents scattered throughout. The author has also included a short bibliography and cross-referenced index.

This will be a valuable resource for family researchers, readers of history, public & home library acquisition, as well as writers of historical fiction/non-fiction. It's layman accessible and interesting. I read it through cover to cover like a novel.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 28 February, 2021: Finished reading
  • 28 February, 2021: Reviewed