Katherine Ashenburg es una galardonada autora de no ficción cuyo trabajo abarca temas desde viajes hasta costumbres funerarias y arquitectura. Es conocida por su profunda curiosidad sobre las prácticas humanas y la historia, a menudo abordadas desde un ángulo inesperado. Ashenburg explora la relación ambivalente de la sociedad con diversos aspectos de la vida y la muerte, infundiendo a su escritura un análisis enérgico. Su prosa es hábil y cautivadora, ofreciendo a los lectores nuevas perspectivas sobre fenómenos tanto familiares como menos conocidos.
Exploring the complexities of unexpected relationships, this novel follows a journalist who finds herself in an unusual bond with her ex-husband's wife. Blending humor and emotional depth, it captures the nuances of love, friendship, and the entangled lives of modern women. With a style reminiscent of Nora Ephron, the story offers a fresh perspective on family dynamics and personal growth, making it both relatable and entertaining.
'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'.
For the first-century Roman, cleanliness involved a public two-hour soak in varying temperatures, body scraping with a miniature rake, and a final application of oil. In contrast, the seventeenth-century aristocratic Frenchman considered changing his shirt daily and using perfume essential, while avoiding water altogether. By the early 1900s, North America embraced the idea of frequent bathing, even daily, leading to unprecedented cleanliness reminiscent of the Roman Empire. As the millennium approached, standards became even more stringent. Today, we inhabit a deodorized world where germophobes avoid handshakes and hand sanitizer sales soar. Katherine Ashenburg uses the act of washing with soap and water as a springboard for a unique exploration of Western culture, uncovering surprising insights about privacy, health, individuality, religion, and sexuality. She investigates cleanliness in plague-ridden streets, medieval baths, castles, and various bathrooms, revealing the odd prescriptions of historical doctors and the hygienic habits of kings, monks, and everyday people. Filled with amusing anecdotes and quotes from historical figures, this exploration is both intriguing and humorous, shedding light on our evolving understanding of cleanliness and its deeper implications for our identities.