A Cultural History of Twin Beds

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.

"Delving through marriage guidance and medical advice books, furniture catalogues and novels, Lancaster University professor Hilary Hinds found that twin beds were initially adopted in the late 19th century as a health precaution. [?] Hinds's book lays out how, by the 1930s, twin beds were commonplace in middle-class households. But by the 1940s, writes Hinds, 'they can occasion an unmistakable curl of the lip' and are 'no longer the preserve of the health-conscious forward-thinking middle classes'." ? The Guardian

"Elegantly written and thoroughly researched, Hilary Hinds' fascinating book demonstrates the shifting role played by the twin bed in the histories of hygiene, consumer culture, sexuality and marriage. Hind reveals the twin bed to be a forgotten actor in late 19th- and 20th-century efforts to reimagine and reform domestic relations." ? Garrett A. Sullivan Jr., Pennsylvania State University, USA

"Twins or double? Tucked away behind the neutral hotel-room options, Hilary Hinds uncovers a compellingly curious 20th-century cultural history. A fascinating story of changing domestic and marital values." ? Rachel Bowlby, University College London, UK

"This fascinating cultural history offers fresh perspectives on public health, domestic hygiene, marital sexuality and even modernity itself." ? Laura Doan, University of Manchester, UK

"Highly original in content and approach, A Cultural History of Twin Beds presents an exciting and novel historical story and sets up a good model for future studies of domestic objects." ? Journal of British Studies

"Lancaster University professor Hilary Hinds explores couples? bedtime habits in?A Cultural History of Twin Beds [?] She found that, up until the 1950s, the notion of sharing a bed was regarded as old-fashioned and unhealthy. More than half a century on in 2020, the opposite is true." ? Vogue

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