50 book challenge
If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home - Lucy Worsley (Book #1)
04:30:00
This week (1st-8th January 2016) I read If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home by Lucy Worsley. For those of you who don't know, this was the first book in my 2016 50 Book Challenge. Here's what I thought of it:
After spending a term studying the ins and outs of Victorian society, I decided to pick up this social history. I had read and seen some of Worsley's works before, so I knew that this read would be well written and engaging from the beginning.
Lucy Worsley has a knack of making all kinds of history accessible. Honestly, anyone could pick this up and have no trouble understanding her ideas, comments and historical ideas. But most of all, this concise yet clear history of the home strikes a perfect balance between history and literature.
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Lucy Worsley has a knack of making all kinds of history accessible. Honestly, anyone could pick this up and have no trouble understanding her ideas, comments and historical ideas. But most of all, this concise yet clear history of the home strikes a perfect balance between history and literature.
Whilst most historians make use of primary sources such as photos and first hand accounts of events, Worsley opts to primarily use works of literature, both fiction and non-fiction, to elaborate upon her arguments. For me this made for an enjoyable addition to the book, as I love reading literature and making connections.
I particularly liked how Worsley focused on the very mundane aspects of everyday life, from washing up to pajamas, make up, and clutter. Along with more obvious topics of discussion such as the changing nature of the bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen, Worsley manages to chart the significant changes towards the houses we live in today. It kind of makes you appreciate your bedroom a little more when you consider that up until the early Tudor period, whole families would sleep on one mattress on the floor!
I would certainly recommend this short history of the home; it took no time to read, which is a luxury for me as most works of history take weeks to read all the way through. There is no fluffy, unnecessary historical language, which makes it accessible to everybody - you don't have to be an expert to enjoy reading this!
That's my first review of my 50 Book Challenge! I've gone a bit book crazy in the January sales so I've got quite a lot of (hopefully) brilliant reads lined up. Watch out next Friday, as I'll be posting my next review.
Beth x
