Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. List of Illustrations vii
4. Acknowledgements x
5. Abbreviations xi
6. Introduction 1
7. Part One
8. 1. ‘Here Falling Houses Thunder on your Head’: Sudden Violent Death and the Metropolis 23
9. 2. ‘I told my Neighbours, who sent for the Searchers’: From Personal Trauma to Public Knowledge 42
10. Part Two
11. 3. ‘Good Servants, but Bad Masters’: Fire and Water 65
12. 4. ‘Much Mischief Happeneth to Persons in the Street’: Everyday Urban Accidents 95
13. 5. ‘Death Hath Ten Thousand Several Doors’: Rare and Unfortunate Events 125
14. 6. ‘Thro’ Freezing Snows, and Rains, and Soaking Sleet’: A Time to Die 149
15. Part Three
16. 7. ‘She was Lame Long After’: Medical and Social Response 167
17. 8. ‘To the Great Hazard of Peoples Lives’: Bringing Order to Chaos 190
18. 9. ‘Telling Pretty Stories’: Constructing Accident Event Narratives 208
19. Conclusion 243
20. Bibliography 247
21. Index 265