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Seiklevad Surnud. Kuulsate Koolnute Saatuse Keerdkäigud (2013)

by Bess Lovejoy(Favorite Author)

3.61 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

AS Äripäev

review 1: REALLY cool book! A whim from the New Book shelf at the library, but the author's frank voice coupled with her thorough research and solid resources made this book a fun and interesting read. I've already shared it with two others I happened to be reading it near, because what I'd read was so intriguing, and I've dropped some curious (morbid) factoids from the book into casual conversation. Hooray for the New Book shelf!
review 2: A really fun read. I wasn't sure I'd like it at first; I can't remember why but it seemed to be something about the details or lack thereof. As I continued thought, I enjoyed it more and more. The funniest story is about the ashes for D.H. Lawrence. Seems his wife decided that his ashes should be taken to Taos, NM where they had... more a ranch. She had built a small shrine to his honor and wanted the ashes there. They had to come from England through a series of friends, who kept forgetting the urn various places. At one point, they may or may not have gotten lost, replaced by fireplace ashes, sand or whatever. So even if there are ashes buried in Lawrence's memorial, they may or may not be his, or even human.Lots of skulls go missing as well. The Marquis de Sade's skull was stolen by a phrenologist who used it to show students how it showed "'goodwill, ... no ferocity ... no aggressive drives ... no excess in erotic impulses.'" (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)The most touching story is that of David Livingstone of "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" Two of his servants were determined to make sure his body was returned to England. They took careful care to make sure it would be preserved and then took it through central Africa where corpses were considered dangerous and people with corpses were given heavy fines or suject to vicious attacks. They started the trek to the coast and both became ill for a month. Several villages along the way denied them entry, one detained them due to a brawl with uncertain beginnings. Once they reached the coast, they found a group of Englishmen who had come to aid Livingstone and were advised by them to bury the body there,. They refused. The British counsel finally allowed one of the servants to accompany the body back to England (there was confusion about the other servants who had helped transport the body and who would pay for its removal to England and passage for the servant. The body reached England and was buried in Westminster Abbey.Some stories are incredibly funny, some incredibly sad and some just incredible. The book is a very easy read and will be enjoyed by anyone who is interested in what happened to famous people after they died. It's not at all macabre. less

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