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smashton12's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book - it gave a great overview of the British home throughout the centuries. I did find the section on the Living Room to drag on a bit but otherwise I enjoyed it! I really liked finding out the origin of the names for much of our modern furniture.
virginia__jane's review against another edition
5.0
A fascinating journey across English history as told through the evolution of our homes, the rooms within, and the ways we used those rooms & commonplace items.
southerngirlinexile's review against another edition
4.0
Just a fascinating book. The author did a fantastic job of making a potentially dry subject really riveting... for the first 1/2. The history of the living room and kitchen just didn't hold up to the bedroom and bathroom. Still, it's a book that I will probably revisit - and hopefully finish - in the future.
brandifox's review against another edition
3.0
An enjoyable overview of the mundane daily parts of English history from the medieval period to the modern. A very enjoyable audiobook for nerdy background learning.
sjgrodsky's review against another edition
5.0
A delightful piece of social history. This is like walking through a history museum with a witty well informed and enthusiastic guide. It's frothy popularization, nothing scholarly. But it's well done for what it is.
mikewa14's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the series and I think Lucy Worsley is amazing. The book was fascinating and covered a lot of ground.
The only reason that I couldn't give it five stars was the poor editing (sorry Lucy!). Many sections featured text repeated from other sections, presumably the book had been assembled from the tv scripts and then bolstered - obviously repeated key points across several episodes of a tv series is no big deal - particularly a factual series where viewers may not see every episode, but in a book it is very noticeable and just comes across as lazy editing.
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/if-walls-could-talk-intimate-history-of.html
The only reason that I couldn't give it five stars was the poor editing (sorry Lucy!). Many sections featured text repeated from other sections, presumably the book had been assembled from the tv scripts and then bolstered - obviously repeated key points across several episodes of a tv series is no big deal - particularly a factual series where viewers may not see every episode, but in a book it is very noticeable and just comes across as lazy editing.
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/if-walls-could-talk-intimate-history-of.html
ksdambro's review against another edition
3.0
Makes one appreciative of flush toilets and running water. Amazing to think that it wasn't that long ago that it was uncommon in homes in the industrialized world and horrifying to think it is still uncommon in much of the world today.