BOOK REVIEW: If Walls Could Talk

If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home by Lucy Worsley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

From the title of this book, you might expect a historical treatment of the home itself -- perhaps a book about architecture -- but it's far more than that. Lucy Worsley, chief curator for Britain's Historic Royal palaces, uses the four main rooms of the home -- the bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen -- as a framework for revealing the lives of the people who live within those walls.

It sounds dull on paper, but the book is fascinating. And it answers questions I've always wondered about (how on earth did women go to the bathroom in those gigantic dresses? How did families manage to all sleep in a single bed/bedroom?) and things I never realized I wanted to know (how were bodies preserved for public viewings? How did personal hygiene evolve?). The book touches on all sorts of topics -- sexuality, cooking, sleeping, boardinghouses, outhouses, you name it -- and shows how societal norms evolved alongside such things as indoor plumbing, automatic appliances, and duvets.

This isn't a scholarly history, but it's an engaging, lively work of popular history, with Worsley's dry wit evident throughout. I would particularly recommend it to people who enjoy Downton Abbey, The Tudors, or other period television shows, as it provides an interesting backdrop to what's happening onscreen and why.

Electronic review copy received from the publisher via NetGalley. Publication date March 7, 2012.

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Comments

[Katie]

Ooh! That sounds like a must read for me!

[Sarah J]

I'll have to look this one up. I loved Bill Bryson's At Home: A Short History of Private Life. Sounds like a similar concept.

[Kim]

This does sound fascinating. I'll have to remember it when I get to "W" on my Alphabet Reading List.