If Walls Could Talk, Lucy Worsley
If Walls Could Talk, Lucy Worsley
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
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If Walls Could Talk
An Intimate History of the Home

Author: Lucy Worsley

Narrator: Anne Flosnik

Unabridged: 9 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/28/2012

Synopsis

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 did gas lighting cause Victorian ladies to faint? 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. She covers the history of each room and explores what people actually did in bed, in the bath, at the table, and at the stove—from sauce stirring to breastfeeding, teeth cleaning to masturbation, getting dressed to getting married—providing a compelling account of how the four rooms of the home have evolved from medieval times to today.

About Lucy Worsley

Lucy Worsley, OBE, is chief curator at the charity Historic Royal Palaces. She also presents history documentaries for the BBC. Her bestselling books include Queen Victoria, Jane Austen at Home, The Art of the English Murder, and If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home. In 2019, her BBC One program Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley won a BAFTA. She lives in England.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sharon on September 04, 2012

A very lightweight treatment of a very interesting subject. It turns out that the book is an accompaniment to a television program of the same name that was shown on the BBC. And it reads as such. There are four main sections, looking at the bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen. Within each se......more

Goodreads review by Nicky on December 07, 2014

If Walls Could Talk isn’t exactly an academic, peer reviewed, footnoted piece of work, but it is kinda fun as a light read. Some of her etymological claims seem a bit spurious, some I’m sure I’ve heard debunked elsewhere, but it’s entertaining nonetheless. I think it could’ve been more interesting i......more

Goodreads review by Christine on July 14, 2019

Chock full of fascinating anecdotes, If Walls Could Talk is an engaging history of domestic life in the Western World. Curious about the origins of the phrase "chairman of the board"? Ever wonder when the fork came into use? Would you believe a Mr. Crapper was instrumental in the widespread producti......more

Goodreads review by Simon on November 19, 2019

If Walls Could Talk is a mostly enjoyable, frothy look at the history of the home. In England. The book is based on Worsley's experiences as a working historian in a variety on historical homes in England, and so it could be expected that the book would focus on English homes. It does, however, do t......more

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