If Walls Could Talk: An intimate history of the home

Description

Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did Samuel Pepys never give his mistresses an orgasm? Why did medieval people sleep sitting up? When were the two 'dirty centuries'? Why did gas lighting cause Victorian ladies to faint? Why, for centuries, did people fear fruit? All these questions will be answered in this juicy, smelly and truly intimate history of home life. Lucy Worsley takes us through the bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen, covering the architectural history of each room, but concentrating on 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 masturbation, getting dressed to getting married, this book will make you see your home with new eyes.

Lucy Worsley is Chief Curator of the Historic Royal Palaces, based at Hampton Court. She also appears regularly on radio and television, on BBC1's The One Show, as well as Timewatch and other history programmes. Lucy is the author of Courtiers: The Secret History of Kensington Palace and Cavalier: A Tale of Chivalry, Passion and Great Houses.