Deathbed wisdom, gallows humour, fond farewells, suicide notes, and desperate departures – here is an extensive and fascinating compilation of exit lines and a valuable document on just how humanity meets its last hours.

          The 2300 entries feature a collection of the world’s leading figures – from Abraham Lincoln to Oscar Wilde, Julius Caesar to Bing Crosby, Henry VIII, Noel Coward, Billy the Kid, Van Gogh – everyone who managed to squeeze out a memorable farewell is included.

          This sometimes funny, frequently poignant compilation offers a glimpse at the death-bed departures of kings, courtiers, poets, painters, saints, villains, murderers, and martyrs through the ages. Among the notable parting sentiments are Bing Crosby’s breezy sign-off: “That was a great game of golf, fellers,” Lawrence Oates’ farewell to Captain Scott on his mythically ill-fated expedition to the South Pole: “I’m just going out. I may be some time…,” and Civil War commander General Sedgewick’s final miscalculation: “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this dist—.” It is a fascinating record of our final thoughts at the brink of the unimaginable. Jonathan Green is a noted lexicographer and the author of many books, including Slang Down the Ages.