Clean

An Unsanitised History of Washing

Katherine Ashenburg

ISBN 1846681014

ISBN 13 9781846681011

March 2009

Price £8.99

Paperback, 368 pp.

Buy this book at amazon.co.uk

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Subject: History

‘Ashenburg rolls up her sleeves and takes us on an engaging tour of hygiene through the ages. Her masterful mix of erudition and anecdote makes this a fascinating, fast-paced read’ - Time Out

’I return to Paris in five days. Stop washing.’ So wrote Napoleon to Josephine in an age when body odour was considered an aphrodisiac. In stark contrast, the Romans used to bath for hours each day. Ashenburg’s investigation of history’s ambivalence towards personal hygiene takes her through plague-ridden streets, hospitals and battlefields. From the bizarre prescriptions of doctors to the eccentricities of famous bathers, she presents us with all the twists and turns that have led us to our own, arbitrary notion of ‘clean’.

‘...terrific history of personal hygiene...a wonderfully interesting and amusing book.’
— Daily Mail

‘...full of acute perceptions...exceptionally enjoyable...’
— Sunday Times