The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History

“Show me a people’s bathhouses and bathrooms, and I will show you what they desire, what they ignore, sometimes what they fear ‒ and a significant part of who they are.” – Katherine Ashenburg, in the introduction to THE DIRT ON CLEAN“When the future Louis XIII of France was born, in 1601, the court physician kept notes on the child’s washing history … At six weeks his head was massaged. At seven weeks, his abundant cradle cap was rubbed with butter and olive oil. The baby’s hair was not combed until he was nine months old. At the age of five, his legs were washed for the first time, in tepid water. He had his first bath at the ripe age of almost seven.” ‒ from THE DIRT ON CLEAN“Odors are unnecessary and those who have them are violating rules of courtesy.” ‒ Sophie Hadida, in her 1932 book  Manners for Millions: A Correct Code of Pleasing Personal Habits “There’s character - in soap and water” ‒ from an American magazine ad of the 1920s“The Hotel on Rivington (offers) floor-to-ceiling windows in the shower that makes it visible to the hotel’s neighbors.” ‒ from THE DIRT ON CLEANTHE DIRT ON CLEAN by Katherine Ashenburg is a survey of the cultural attitudes regarding personal hygiene spanning the Greek and Roman eras to the present. It focuses on the nation states of Europe – mainly Western Europe – and the United States. It ignores the cleanliness standards of the Middle and Far East, and only touches on Muslim habits as they conflicted with Christian ones when the former occupied much of Spain.By the book’s conclusion, the reader learns that personal hygiene is cyclical, evolving over the centuries from very clean to dirty to reasonably clean to appalling and disgustingly filthy to reasonably clean again progressing currently to something compulsively obsessive (especially with us crazy Americans!).THE DIRT ON CLEAN is comprehensively instructive in a school text sort of way. It is, however, lacking in humor. Had the topic fallen under the word processor of, say, Mary Roach ( Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers , Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex , and  Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal ), who takes the human condition seriously but, with a wink and a nod, not too seriously, it would’ve been enormously entertaining as well.The volume’s pages are liberally sprinkled with sidebar quotes from other sources relating to the subject in the context of the time period covered by the chapter at hand. These sidebars are set into their own text boxes in a smaller and lighter (in darkness) font. If your eyesight is failing with age (as mine is), a magnifying glass is called for.THE DIRT ON CLEAN is an eminently readable contribution to the social studies genre.

I hated to see this book end. The text is presented in a breezy, very readable fashion and there are any number of curious illustrations to peruse. I learned so much about historical Western cleanliness that I may never read another historical romance! I mean, ew, they didn't even wash their hands at some points!It would have been nice to get a non-Western history as well, but that could well be saved for another book and/or author. As it is, I'd recommend this book for curious people as well as writers (and readers) of historicals. And for those who are worried that perhaps they're missing being completely clean in today's über-fastidious America. (btw, I'm going to steal "Nacirema" for one of my novels. Too bizarre!)Loved it! Commented all over Facebook about it. It's going on one of my "keeper" shelves.

I am amazed that we have the chance nowadays to enjoy daily showers, toilets, and many other luxuries that in other times were so far from daily life as described in this book. The evolution of hygiene is very very interesting as it crosses so many other historic landmarks, and how it changes depending on the different cultures.What we see from other epochs, from sculptures and paintings is certainly not what we would have smelled!I read it once. And I plan to read it again soon. It gives material for very entertaining conversations.

This terrific book ranks right up there with `Inside the Victorian Home' and `Taste: The Story of Britain Through Its Cooking' as the kind of social History which adds essential context and meaning to the more common `lives' and `events' accounts we buffs usually devour in the normal course of our reading endeavors. Ms. Ashenburg presents a light-hearted but thoroughgoing look at `dirt' through the ages, particularly as it relates to human hygiene which has ranged from the Roman `clean as a whistle' to the medieval `dirty as a dog,' and does it with solid scholarship and a wry smile. I was in the midst of the read when I caught a re-run of an episode of `The Tudors', Showtime's often fatuous but highly entertaining account of the reign of Henry VIII, and it occurred to me that the judicious if anachronistic application of a little Prell and a bit of Dial might have saved two lives. Thomas Cromwell arranged Henry's marriage to the German princess Anne of Cleves. Henry took one, uh, sniff and pronounced her unacceptable because of her malevolent odors (this coming from a man whose famously stinky `un-healable' abscess made all around him hold their noses...and their tongues). Henry both separated himself from Anne and Cromwell's head from his torso and went on to marry Catherine Howard, a notorious tart who lasted months before having her date with the ax man. Just think if Henry had found Anne as fragrant as the Tudor rose. Would Cromwell have lived to spin more intrigues and Catherine to bed more courtiers? As recounted by Ms. Ashenburg, John Wesley is generally credited with the maxim, "Cleanliness is next to godliness." He might have added it can be a downright lifesaver.Don't be put off by the somewhat ungainly title. `The Dirt on Clean' is a delightful read. So you'll be taking more showers and washing your hands with distressing regularity...it's worth it.

I read this almost a decade ago as research for a project I didn't get around to tackling until recently, and I figured I should reread Ashenburg's book so my understanding of her analysis is fresh.And I enjoyed it just as much the second time through as I did the first. It's a thoroughly engaging, informative read that both makes me think and makes me feel lucky to have access to good sanitation. I highly recommend it.

The author shows any curious reader the fluctuations of human cleanliness--well, mostly uncleanliness--from ancient Rome to our days. This is a well-researched book, which took the author four years to write and edit. It is a treasure chest offering the oddities of beliefs regarding the human body. For centuries "not washing" yourself was considered healthy and supported by medical doctors. The author reports about unbelievable deficiencies [forwarded by medical people of consequence] for "healthy" dirt and stench.Exceptionally revealing are the vignettes offered on most pages like: how to cure the goat-like stench of armpits or when the chamber pots were emptied onto the streets of Madrid or where in Europe "the devout do not wash their bottoms." This would be a great read while, after a day's work, commuting home in an overcrowded subway, tram, or bus, with their many human smells filling the space.But there's also another aspect. Whenever I watch now a movie set in--say--1720, I can imagine what's missing in this movie: dirt, filth, and the invisible stink.This is a fascinating book.

This book has everything you could want for a biography.The author goes through each century and along the way she give you little tid-bits and fun facts or stories that make this look light, fun and breezy.You never realize how clean people where back in Roman/Greek times and how dirty we were in Medieval times, or how wrap our sense of clean has become now, we are OVER clean.

De lectura amena, es muy ilustrativo de nuestra civilización. El único "pero" que le pongo es que a veces es un poco pesado con las cifras, pero por otra parte son necesarias para ver la evolución de la higiene en nuestra cultura occidental. Muy recomendable y se aprenden muchos datos curiosos.

Al fin encuentro una autocrítica justificada, sensata y entretenida sobre la misofobia estadounidense. Los últimos párrafos son gloriosos, apreciables sólo tras leer lo anterior.

Very interesting perspective and understanding of cleaning through time. Very easy to read and informative without being overwhelming the reader with details.