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The idea that 'home' is a special place, a separate place, a place where we can be our true selves, is so obvious to us today that we barely pause to think about it.
But, as Judith Flanders shows in this revealing book, 'home' is a relatively new concept. When in 1900 Dorothy assured the citizens of Oz that 'There is no place like home', she was expressing a view that was a culmination of 300 years of economic, physical, and emotional change.
In The Making of Home, Flanders traces the evolution of the house across northern Europe and America from the sixteenth to the early twentieth century and paints a striking picture of how the homes we know today differ from homes through history.
The transformation of houses into homes, she argues, was not a private matter, but an essential ingredient in the rise of capitalism and the birth of the Industrial Revolution. Without 'home', the modern world as we know it would not exist, and as Flanders charts the development of ordinary household objects-from cutlery, chairs, and curtains, to fitted kitchens, plumbing and windows-she also peels back the myths that surround some of our most basic assumptions, including our entire notion of what it is that makes a family.
As full of fascinating detail as her previous bestsellers, The Making of Home is also a book teeming with original and provocative ideas.
But, as Judith Flanders shows in this revealing book, 'home' is a relatively new concept. When in 1900 Dorothy assured the citizens of Oz that 'There is no place like home', she was expressing a view that was a culmination of 300 years of economic, physical, and emotional change.
In The Making of Home, Flanders traces the evolution of the house across northern Europe and America from the sixteenth to the early twentieth century and paints a striking picture of how the homes we know today differ from homes through history.
The transformation of houses into homes, she argues, was not a private matter, but an essential ingredient in the rise of capitalism and the birth of the Industrial Revolution. Without 'home', the modern world as we know it would not exist, and as Flanders charts the development of ordinary household objects-from cutlery, chairs, and curtains, to fitted kitchens, plumbing and windows-she also peels back the myths that surround some of our most basic assumptions, including our entire notion of what it is that makes a family.
As full of fascinating detail as her previous bestsellers, The Making of Home is also a book teeming with original and provocative ideas.
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Reviews
"Fascinating... A treasure chest, bursting with facts and thoughts about what homes mean and how they have been lived in: a perfect book to curl up with in the comfort of your own."
Mail on Sunday
"From the humble shack to the modern high-rise, Judith Flanders brilliantly illuminates the meaning of "home" throughout history. The Making of Home is a fascinating and ambitious exploration into the soul of family life. We are more than what we eat, we are also how we live."
Amanda Foreman
"In this clever and entertaining book Flanders gives the everyday, from bed-making to drainpipes, all the vivid interest of something newly made strange."
Sunday Times