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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
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www.ceciliaruiz.com

THE BOOK OF EXTRAORDINARY DEATHS

Cecilia Ruiz

True Accounts of Ill-Fated Lives

For fans of The Book of Unusual Knowledge, The Book of General Ignorance, and other trivia books, this is a uniquely clever and lightheartedly sinister giftbook, illustrating the infamous deaths of an eclectic selection of historical figures.
A welcome dose of dark humor for these dark times, THE BOOK OF EXTRAORDINARY DEATHS introduces readers to the bizarre demises of thinkers, writers, monarchs, artists, and notable nobodies throughout history. Beginning in the fifth century BC with the morbidly unusual death of Aeschylus and journeying chronologically to identical twins - who died on the same day - in the present day, readers will learn of people they may or may not have ever heard of, but will forever remember for their memorable final moments. With Ruiz's sharply witty descriptions and compellingly beautiful illustrations, her characters come to life on the page even as they reach their demises. If you are unfamiliar with the Dancing Plague of Strasbourg, the strange duel that claimed balloonist Monsieur de Pique's life, or the fatal wardrobe malfunction of famed dancer Isadora Duncan, then you are in for a treat.

Some extraordinary deaths include:
- Milo of Croton (458 BC), a Greek wrestler whose last fight was against nature.
- Sir Arthur Aston (1649), a royalist commander who, during the Siege of Drogheda, was beaten to death with his own wooden leg.
- Jean-Baptiste Lully (1687), a music composer who died of a gangrenous abscess after piercing his foot with a staff while vigorously conducting.
- Alan Stacey (1960), a Formula One driver, who died in a car crash during the Belgian Grand Prix when a bird flew into his face.


Cecilia Ruiz is an illustrator and graphic designer. She is the author of The Book of Memory Gaps, and obtained a BFA in graphic design from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and a MFA in illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
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Book

Published 2018-10-23 by Blue Rider Press

Book

Published 2018-10-23 by Blue Rider Press

Comments

The Rumpus has included Cecilia's launch event in their list of notable NYC events for the week. Read more...

Unbound Worlds has included the book in their "2018 Nerdy Gift Guide", calling it "a hilarious and quirky memento mori: a perfect stocking stuffer for the morbidly inclined." This gift guide also includes An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth. Read more...

THE BOOK OF EXTRAORDINARY DEATHS was included in a roundup of stocking stuffer books from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Their reviewer writes, "The concept of this oddly charming book might be Goreyesque but Ruiz's illustrations are softer, more haunting." Read more...

Graphic designer Ruiz (The Book of Memory Gaps) pairs short, macabre tales with minimalist illustrations in this offbeat gift book. Ruiz's sinister selections and quirky technique add up to delightfully morbid foray into history. Read more...

THE BOOK OF EXTRAORDINARY DEATHS was included in LitReactor's "Best Books of 2018" Read more...

The excerpt from THE BOOK OF EXTRAORDINARY DEATHS is now live on CrimeReads, with the theme of people who met their demise due to inanimate objects. Read more...

Ruiz's "The Book of Memory Gaps" (2015) and "The Book of Extraordinary Deaths" (2018) are dazzlingly Goreyesque in their cataloging of suggestive memory disorders and evocative deaths from the seventh century B.C. to the present. Read more...