If Walls Could Talk - An Intimate History of the Home (2012)

Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did Samuel Pepys never give his mistresses an orgasm? 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 people fear fruit? All these questions will be answered in this juicy, smelly, and truly intimate history of home life. Lucy Worsley takes us through the bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen, covering the architectural history of each room, but concentrating on what people actually did in bed, in the bath, at the table, and at the stove. From sauce-stirring to breast-feeding, teeth-cleaning to masturbation, getting dressed to getting married, this book will make you see your home with new eyes.

Praise for If Walls Could Talk:

"Dr. Lucy Worsley charts the evolution of the British home … It's a fascinating journey."-Daily Mail (UK )

"Anecdotes, jokes and fascinating facts come thick and fast … Worsley's eye for quirky detail is so compelling you quickly find yourself gripped by the most unlikely subjects."-Mail on Sunday (UK )

"Saucy intimacies and salacious secrets … I was glued."-Country Life (UK )