«Worsley is a thoughtful, charming, often hilarious guide to life as it was lived, from the mundane to the esoteric.†? -The Boston Globe
Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did medieval people sleep sitting up? When were the two «dirty centuries†?? Why, for centuries, did rich people fear fruit?
In her brilliantly and creatively researched book, Lucy Worsley takes us through the bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen, covering the history of each room and exploring what people actually did in bed, in the bath, at the table, and at the stove-from sauce stirring to breast-feeding, teeth cleaning to masturbating, getting dressed to getting married-providing a compelling account of how the four rooms of the home have evolved from medieval times to today, charting revolutionary changes in society.
The early care of infants was considered vital, of course, to their future well-being, and well-brought-up children required a huge amount of clobber.
