It's the stuff of jokes and sitcoms: someone thought to be dead, sits up in the coffin. It's not as uncommon as you might think. And there's an example of this — sort of — in the text.
The iconic American humorist and author Mark Twain (real name, Samuel Clemens) was traveling abroad in London in May of the year 1897 when some newspapers back home reported that he was very ill and on his deathbed. Turns out that members of the press had confused Sam Clemens with his cousin James Ross Clemens, who was also in London at the time and actually quite sick (though he would recover). To clear up the false reports, Twain wrote a letter back home that was published in the New York Journal in which he said with his characteristic wit, "The report of my death was an exaggeration."
Given the Victorian era's fascination with death, it might have been both a relief and a disappointment to the Journal's readers. The late 19th century was full of talk about death, mourning rituals and even mourning fashion for grieving ladies. The making of "death masks" or plaster impressions of the deceased's face at the time of death was a common practice. Even burial practices were getting new...
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