by Liza Picard (Author)
Like its popular and acclaimed predecessor Restoration London, this book is the result of the author's passionate interest in the practical details of the everyday life of our ancestors, so often ignored in more conventional history books. Based on every possible contemporary source - diaries, almanacs, newspapers, advice books, memoirs, government papers and reports - Liza Picard examines every aspect of life in London: the streets, houses and gardens; cooking, housework, laundry and shopping; clothes and jewellery, cosmetics and hairdressing; medicine, sex, hobbies, education and etiquette; religion and popular beliefs; law and crime. This book spans the years 1740 to 1770, starting when the gin craze was gaining ground and ending when the east coast of America was still British.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 362
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Orion
Published: 12 Jul 2000
ISBN 10: 0297842188
ISBN 13: 9780297842187
Book Overview: Restoration London: has now sold over 23,000 copies as well as being as being a main selection of the History Book Club. On first publication reviewers said: 'A marvellous source-book for historical novelists and film-makers out for authenticity, and a near-perfect bedside book for anyone else.' Sunday Telegraph 'This is a joy of a book.' Roy Porter 'Abattoirs, witchcraft, wallpaper, treason, the various types of pox, rioting, pepper, spitting, pregnancy, Isaac Newton, pawn shops and lots and lots of sex - her scholarship is breathtaking.' Mail On Sunday 'Picard has a delicious sense of humour, an insatiable curiosity and an acute eye for detail... A truly wonderful book.' Sydney Morning Herald DR JOHNSON'S LONDON - Vivid social history of one of the most appealing periods in London's history.