Chapter One is "First Impressions" which deals at length with entry foyer furniture and how it was used. Hall racks, card stands and hall chairs are all discussed in this chapter.

Chapter Two is "Death in the dining room" - which gets it's name from the slain game often depicted on victorian dining room furniture - such as side boards and buffets.

Chapter Three is "Words to Live by" - Samplers, wall hangings and other embroidered or metal stamped messages.

Chapter Four is "When the Music Stops" which covers the societal importance of pump organs and how music was very important to a Victorian woman.

Chapter Five is "Posture and Power" - a chapter about living room (parlor) furniture.

There are a zillion interesting little factoids about life at the turn of this century. And it does give you a good feel for etiquette and expectations and the rules back then.

And it answered questions for me - like "Why was parlor furniture so uncomfortable and rigid?" Because Victorians placed great emphasis on the importance of self-control as an invaluable discipline. Comfortable furniture suggested mental laziness. (My paraphrase)

So it does give some insights into why things were the way they were. Lots of history there.

But when I picked it up, I thought it was a book on old houses, not old furniture. I thought the title was an allusion to the fact that 100 years ago, funerals were held in the dining room, which is the reason many old house dining rooms have an entry door - so the visitors could graciously and easily leave the house after the viewing. It is not that kind of book. But I still enjoyed reading it.

It is a large book with one or more pictures of antique furnishings on every page. A good resource for someone who wants to recreate a historic interior.