Moving away from his usual interest in Egyptian mummies, Pettigrew here addresses another morbid interest in antiquities: the epitaphs and inscriptions of ancient sepulchers. The majority of this study focuses on the epitaphs of England and surrounding regions that fall into several categories ranging from devotional to untruthful, from rhetorical to ridiculous. Laid out catalogue style with an index, this book was among the first of its genre and retains its value for readers interested in the perceptions of death as left in the monuments of the departed.