Overview

Why do we still have nits? What exactly are `purity rules'? And why have baths scarcely changed in 200 years? This pioneering book covers the global history of human body-care. From pre-historic grooming rituals to New Age medicine, from ascetics to cosmetics, Smith looks at how different cultures have interpreted and striven for personal cleanliness. It is probably safe to say that no-one who reads this book will look at his or her body (or bathroom) in quite the same way again.

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9780199297795

Table of Contents

Reviews

[A] fascinating and detailed account. Dr Susan Aldridge, Focus Smith has written a fact-rich book. The First Post Lucid and wide-ranging. Bee Wilson, The Times (Books) Jam-packed with historical information. Jenny McCartney, Sunday Telegraph A breath-taking account of cleanliness from prehistory up to the present day. Sophie Harrison, Sunday Times (Culture) Authoritative and fascinating. New Scientist Lots of fascinating revelations. Liz Jones, Evening Standard (London)

`Utterly engaging' New York Times |d 21/10/2007

Author Information

Virginia Smith is a freelance historian who specializes in the history of personal hygiene. She was previously a Fellow of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, and is currently an honorary fellow of the Centre for History in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her current research interests include the history of cosmetics, spas, and nudity.

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