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January Forum: Sudden Death – Nineteenth-Century Coroners Inquests

15th January @ 6:15 pm – 7:30 pm

Online via Zoom Conferencing

Free
A black and white drawing of a group of men dressed in frock coats sitting around a table. A small boy stands in front next to what looks like a parish beadle. There is woman standing on the right behind the beadle and a group of men in the background.

Sudden Death: Nineteenth-Century

About the January Forum

Sudden Death: Nineteenth-Century Coroners Inquests, a talk illustrated with case studies from Leicester

Sudden fatalities attracted great social, medical and media interest in the nineteenth century. Inquests, typically held publicly and rapidly after a death, were community events, drawing people from all social classes together to discuss and judge causes of death. The coroner’s court identified homicide and criminal acts of suicide, but also investigated accidents and unexpected natural deaths. The proceedings offer a remarkable insight into Victorian life, death and society, lifting the curtain on domestic life, working practices, and interpersonal relationships. In this talk, Sophie Michell explains how the inquest worked in the nineteenth century, using examples from Leicester. 

About the Speaker

Sophie Michell is a PhD candidate at the Open University, studying the coroner’s court in Peterborough. 

Event Details

This is an online event. Please use this link to get your ticket.

January Forum: Sudden Death – Nineteenth-Century Coroners Inquests