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How did our modern ideas of physical well-being originate? As John Crowley demonstrates in The Invention of Comfort, changes in sensible technology owed a great deal to fashion-conscious elites discovering discomfort in surroundings they earlier had felt to be satisfactory.
Written in an engaging style that will appeal to historians and material culture specialists as well as to general readers, this pathbreaking work brings together such disparate topics of analysis as climate, fire, food, clothing, the senses, and anxiety -- especially about the night.
How did our modern ideas of physical well-being originate? As John Crowley demonstrates in The Invention of Comfort, changes in sensible technology owed a great deal to fashion-conscious elites discovering discomfort in surroundings they earlier had felt to be satisfactory.
Written in an engaging style that will appeal to historians and material culture specialists as well as to general readers, this pathbreaking work brings together such disparate topics of analysis as climate, fire, food, clothing, the senses, and anxiety -- especially about the night.
Contents: Preface and Acknowledgments PART I: TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURAL AMENITY Chapter 1. Commodious Comfort: Hall and Hearth, Chamber and Chimney Chapter 2. Civil Comfort: Mansion Houses Chapter 3. Colonial Comfort: Vernacular and Elegant Options PART II: FROM LUXURY TO COMFORT Chapter 4. Decent Comfort: Candles and Mirrors Chapter 5. Convenient Comfort: Political Economy Chapter 6. Enlightened Comfort: Stoves and Lamps PART III: THE LANDSCAPE OF COMFORT Chapter 7. Picturesque Comfort: The Cottage Chapter 8. Healthy Comfort: The Piazza Chapter 9. Gendered Comfort: House Design BooksConclusionNotesI
Every page offers interesting detail, worthwhile insights, and useful connections-the illustrations are a major contribution in themselves... It will be a standard reference work in material culture studies. -- Peter Charles HofferUniversity of Georgia, author of The Devil's Disciples and Law and People in Colonial America
John E. Crowley is the George Munro Professor of History at Dalhousie University. He is currently studying the creation of a global landscape in British visual culture c. 1750-1820.
Riveting... A solid contribution to the literature on the cultural impact of gentility, refinement, and the 'baubles of Britain' in England and its colonial possessions. Journal of American History Crowley provides a masterly search and survey that no historian of material culture should miss, and every curious reader should consider. -- Eugen Weber Phi Beta Kappa Key Reporter A comprehensive and tight study... a valuable contribution to the field, [and] one that is enjoyable to read. -- Emma Hart English Historical Review The sheer range of evidence, the interweaving of themes, and the overall strength of the argument mean [this] is an ideal book for specialists and students alike. -- Helen Clifford Journal of Design History The Invention of Comfort is an important and thought-provoking book that challenges our understanding of why people live that way they do. -- Marie Morgan New England Quarterly This is a powerful book, full of startling information and valuable insights. -- Rhys Isaac American Historical Review This is a grand panorama that stretches from medieval times through the antebellum years and covers a geographic area from England to the West Indies and then some. Crowley makes a successful case for the 'invention' of comfort and especially for the cultural influences on that process. -- Molly W. Berger Technology and Culture Crowley invites his readers to follow him upon an engaging and meticulously detailed tour of the living spaces of English people. -- Natalie Zacek H-Albion, H-Net Reviews Good books cross lines drawn in the sand by others. Terrific books scatter the sand and redraw the lines. John E. Crowley's The Invention of Comfort is one of the latter... A masterful and sweeping interpretation of material culture evidence that asks important historical questions. -- Ann Smart Martin Journal of Social History
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