What We Did in Bed: A Horizontal History

Fagan, Brian; Durrani, Nadia

ISBN 10: 0300223889 / ISBN 13: 9780300223880

Published by Yale University Press, 2019

May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0300223889I4N00

Synopsis:

Pulling back the covers on the fascinating, yet often forgotten, history of the bed

Louis XIV ruled France from his bedchamber. Winston Churchill governed Britain from his during World War II. Travelers routinely used to bed down with complete strangers, and whole families shared beds in many preindustrial households. Beds were expensive items-and often for show. Tutankhamun was buried on a golden bed, wealthy Greeks were sent to the afterlife on dining beds, and deceased middle-class Victorians were propped up on a bed in the parlor.

In this sweeping social history that covers the past seventy thousand years, Brian Fagan and Nadia Durrani look at the endlessly varied role of the bed through time. This was a place for sex, death, childbirth, storytelling, and sociability as well as sleeping. But who did what with whom, why, and how, could vary incredibly depending on the time and place. It is only in the modern era that the bed has transformed into a private, hidden zone, and its rich social history has largely been forgotten.

About the Author: Brian Fagan is emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the author of Fishing: How the Sea Fed Civilization and A Little History of Archaeology. Nadia Durrani has a doctorate in archaeology, is the co-author of several books with Fagan, and has written widely about archaeology for the popular media.

Bibliographic Details

Title: What We Did in Bed: A Horizontal History
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication Date: 2019
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket