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mightymadsJust finished Lucy Worsley’s If Walls Could Talk after watching a mini-series of the same name (available on YouTube). If Walls Could Talk is a nice addition to Ruth Goodman’s How to Be a Victorian and Judith Flanders’ The Victorian House, both of which are highly informative and abundant in details.
Dr. Worsley’s book is much lighter in tone: each chapter is a bite-sized chunk written in an easy, conversational style with lots of historical anecdotes. The book overviews the evolution of four rooms—bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen—from the Middle Ages up until the present time. While it’s not an in-depth study (had it been, there would have been a series of books instead of a single and relatively short one), If Walls Could Talk is kind of an entertaining travel guide which provides fascinating titbits of information. For example, it was fun to learn that a drawing room used to be a withdrawing room where the hosts of the house could withdraw from the clamour of the great hall to entertain a selected company of guests.
Some reviewers on goodreads criticised If Walls Could Talk for being too superficial and recommended Bill Bryson’s At Home. I added the latter to my reading list but thoroughly enjoyed the former. It was exactly what I needed for a couple of restful evenings.
Dr. Worsley’s book is much lighter in tone: each chapter is a bite-sized chunk written in an easy, conversational style with lots of historical anecdotes. The book overviews the evolution of four rooms—bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen—from the Middle Ages up until the present time. While it’s not an in-depth study (had it been, there would have been a series of books instead of a single and relatively short one), If Walls Could Talk is kind of an entertaining travel guide which provides fascinating titbits of information. For example, it was fun to learn that a drawing room used to be a withdrawing room where the hosts of the house could withdraw from the clamour of the great hall to entertain a selected company of guests.
Some reviewers on goodreads criticised If Walls Could Talk for being too superficial and recommended Bill Bryson’s At Home. I added the latter to my reading list but thoroughly enjoyed the former. It was exactly what I needed for a couple of restful evenings.
