Water and Respectability

Ordinary things often carry the hardest evidence to preserve. A History of Bathing and Cleanliness follows the people, objects, institutions, and changing habits that gave this familiar part of life its historical weight. It places practical choices beside wider questions of work, status, commerce, and public order, showing how small routines could shape communities. Clear and grounded, it helps readers see the past through material traces and lived experience rather than grand events alone.