A Tomb With a View: The Stories and Glories of Graveyards: Scottish Non-fiction Book of the Year 2021

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A Tomb With A View by Norman Robbins is a glorious spoof set in a gloomy old mansion. The action centres on the Tomb Family after the death of the head of the household and subsequent fallout after the reading of the will. Front of House: The front of house team welcomed patrons and helped to create the atmosphere ready for the production.

Peter Ross, the book's author, encourages us to go beyond the stones and physical attributes of cemeteries because they are like libraries and have stories, which are connected to each person buried there. Early on, he mentions that cemeteries are like parks for introverts, which I love, alongside how cemeteries can become like your favorite beach. As mentioned, Père Lachaise in Paris and Mound Cemetery in Marietta, Ohio are that for me. From this point forward, when I visit a cemetery, I will do even better at noticing everything and do some research on the stories of some of the people buried there because doing so is a way to respect and honor those there by keeping their memory alive. I wholeheartedly agree with the idea that we should extend the same respect we have for the dead to the living. Books should not be judged by their cover, but I reserve the right to judge them by how they make me feel. Love the title and I loved this book. I chose it because I found the title intriguing and because graveyards and tombs have a strange sense of wonder and fascination for many people. Yes, burial grounds of all kinds from the vast Victorian cemeteries of London, those great gardens of death, to little country churchyards. Some of the people I write about, such as Karl Marx, have grand tombs that have become tourist attractions and places of pilgrimage. In many ways, though, I prefer the lesser known. Lilias Adie, a woman accused of witchcraft in the early 18th century, is buried beneath a stone slab below the tideline of the Fife coast. I had to wade out among the mud and seaweed to visit her grave. It’s a lonely spot and I was glad to pay her a visit.

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Adam fills the stage with his physical acting and comedic outbursts, and is often brought to heel by the harsh words of his sister, delivered expertly by Joanna. Edward is in his own world and plays the part so well you believe he really is Caesar. Their crazed scientist older brother and their food obsessed sister plus a divine diva, complete the family.

Because of this book, I would like to explore even more than I already have about how others approach death, burials, and more. Ross shares how the Muslim cemetery is a waiting room for heaven and looks different than what we might expect of a cemetery. People are told how to mourn and for how long. An interesting component here is the speed at which Muslims are buried and how funerals are done. I learned that women are usually referred to as "the wife of" or the "mother of" instead of by name like men out of respect. A dusty lawyer reads a will, involving some millions of pounds, to an equally sinister family. One member has werewolf tendencies, another wanders around in a toga like Julius Caesar and a third member is a genteel lady who plants more than seeds in her flower beds. He does the same with Shane MacThomais, who lies in Dublin’s Glasnevin Cemetery, having worked there as a tour guide, sharing his knowledge of and love for the place before taking his own life close to the main gates. Ross brings both MacThomais and Glasnevin to life, delving into his family history and that of the cemetery, artfully interweaving both with tales of Ireland’s wider history.

Ross' accounts are compelling, but without losing the empathy and tact. Like a good tour guide, he knows there is space for tears, but also for laughter, for grief and for a celebration of life, for grand monuments and for wooden crosses, for defiance and for reconciliation. All told with a hint of nostalgia for the forgotten histories hidden behind names and dates. This sets the stage for a hilarious who done it, full of twists and turns and reveals that even Agatha Christie would be proud of. Ross has written [a] lively elegy to Britain's best burial grounds.' - Evening Standard (*Best New Books of Autumn 2020*) Then there is a brother of hers who thinks he is Julius Caesar and dresses in a toga, slightly underplayed by Paul Shave. Jasmine Gartshore gave a spirited performance as another sister, Emil, and Mark Bailey as the bumbling Lucien was, perhaps, a wee bit over the top in his performance. Another aspect is that of belonging - to a community or to a place. Like countless residents of Crossbones, participants of the Queerly Departed tour, or WWI fallen - they are not missing; they are here.

I really enjoyed the set. Designed, built, and dressed by Bill Hemsley, Paul Melling, Roger Goodwin, Julie Holmes & Stuart Woodward, a library, with chairs, tables and bookcases, the slightly aged look and the dingy lighting all added to the ambiance. The set had plenty of dressing, the picture of Old Septimus, family pictures, plants, the secret passage, the drinks cabinet all worked together well. I personally would have removed the chair stage left, it would have given you more room to use the door and the drinks cabinet, plus offering more down stage space. The production, directed skilfully by Tracey Pearce, flowed along reasonably well, maybe a fraction slower than it should, but well acted, good positioning on stage throughout and yes, even a colourful, slightly creepy setting. Freda Mountjoy- Julie Holmes was very good playing the gently sweet, but then subtly sinister Freda. Her costume was also very lovely. Very good diction and interaction with other players. Andy Young played Perry her secretary, a shy imposter! Andy was superb throughout, as the scared, uncomfortable, and nervous man who eventually takes some control. Undressing on stage was comically managed, and well done. Characterisation and diction in all cases were excellent. There are those who are attracted to cemeteries for the managed neglect or for the romantic decay. There are those who are interested in paying their respects to famous people, their own family members, or someone who represents something connected to their identity. Seeing the dead and removing the taboos connected to death and cemeteries help you come to terms with your own mortality. A sad truth is that some cemeteries are fading with time. For instance, when a cemetery no longer can take burials, it dies. There must therefore be a connection between the past and the present. As Ross emphasizes, present grief is the heartbeat of a cemetery.

This is such a beautiful book. I thought it might be about the history of graveyards, but it’s so much more than that – it’s really about people, and it’s very much about graveyards as living places (my only criticism: I would have loved non-human animals to feature – possibly the pet cemetery on the edge of London’s Hyde Park, and an exploration of the animals who live and thrive in graveyards). All the ingredients for an oddball thriller are in place with the cast; first a homicidal woman who poisons people and buries them in the garden, a part relished by Brenda Prior. Enter a grave new world of fascination and delight as award-winning writer Peter Ross uncovers the stories and glories of graveyards. Who are London’s outcast dead and why is David Bowie their guardian angel? What is the remarkable truth about Phoebe Hessel, who disguised herself as a man to fight alongside her sweetheart, and went on to live in the reigns of five monarchs? Why is a Bristol cemetery the perfect wedding venue for goths? All of these sorrowful mysteries – and many more – are answered in A Tomb With A View, a book for anyone who has ever wandered through a field of crooked headstones and wondered about the lives and deaths of those who lie beneath.