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Start giftingWhat We Did in Bed
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Learn morePulling 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 beds in their parlors.
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.
Brian Fagan is one of the world’s leading archaeological writers and an internationally recognized authority on world prehistory. He is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His other books include Fishing: How the Sea Fed Civilization and A Little History of Archaeology.
Nadia Durrani has spent the past two decades writing about world archaeology. She is the coauthor of several of Brian Fagan’s market-leading textbooks and the former editor of Current World Archaeology magazine.
Michael Langan works as a freelance editor, writing mentor, and teacher and also facilitates creative writing and critical reading workshops. He taught creative writing and English literature at Greenwich University, London, for ten years before giving it up to focus on his writing career. He was arts editor of the online LGBTQ arts and culture journal Polari Magazine, during which time he wrote on visual art, cinema, and books. For the past three years, he has joined forces with The Literary Consultancy (TLC), London, to offer manuscript assessments to emerging LGBTQ writers as part of TLC’s Free Reads scheme, sponsored by the Arts Council England.
Reviews
“This is a fascinating account of an important object that has not previously received the attention it deserves.”
“Anyone wishing to appreciate the pedigree of this unjustly overlooked item of furniture should dive between the covers of this volume to experience the ultimate bedtime story.”
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