1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910737283203321

Autore

Hinds Hilary

Titolo

A cultural history of twin beds / / Hilary Hinds

Pubbl/distr/stampa

2020

Abingdon, Oxon : , : Routledge, , 2020

©2019

ISBN

1-00-308432-X

1-000-18208-8

1-000-18526-5

1-003-08432-X

1-350-04544-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (262 pages) : illustrations

Collana

Home.

Classificazione

SOC002000SOC002010

Disciplina

645.409

Soggetti

Beds - Social aspects

Beds - History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

"First published 2019 by Bloomsbury Academic."

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

List of FiguresSeries Preface: Why Home?AcknowledgementsIntroduction: At Home with Twin Beds1. Double or Twin?Part One: Hygiene 2. Air in the Bedroom3. Vital Force4. Coda: Modern SleepPart Two: Modernity5. Anti-Victorianism and the Modern Home6. Modern by Design7. Coda: The Mise-en-Scène of Modern MarriagePart Three: Marriage8. At Home with a Stranger9. Marie Stopes and Modern Marriage10. Late Victorian Marital Advice11. Abstinence and Ambivalence12. Twin Beds: The Literary VerdictConclusion: Together and ApartNotesReferencesIndex

Sommario/riassunto

A Cultural History of Twin Beds challenges our most ingrained assumptions about intimacy, sexuality, domesticity and hygiene by tracing the rise and fall of twin beds as a popular sleeping arrangement for married couples between 1870 and 1970. Modern preconceptions of the twin bed revolve around their use by couples who have no desire to sleep in the same bed space. Yet, for the best part of a century, twin beds were not only seen as acceptable but were championed as the



sign of a modern and forward-thinking couple. But what lay behind this innovation? And why did so many married couples ultimately abandon the twin bed?In this book, Hilary Hinds presents a fascinating insight into the combination of beliefs and practices that made twin beds an ideal sleeping solution. Using nuanced close readings of marriage guidance and medical advice books, furnishing catalogues, novels, films and newspapers, this volume offers an accessible and rigorous account of the curious history of twin beds. This is vital reading for those with an interest in cultural history, sociology, anthropology and psychology.