before the twentieth century. How did the survivors cope with such tragedy? What kind of support did they receive from their community and relatives? How many widows remarried? How many children grew up as step-children or wards? And how did these circumstances influence their futures? While individual stories are frequent themes in literature, the social history of these experiences has yet to be written, especially from a comparative perspective. The 16 essays in this book provide a fresh look at the family history of widowhood and orphanhood in a dozen European and Asian countries.

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