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Family Secrets: Shame And Privacy In Modern Britain (2013)

by Deborah Cohen(Favorite Author)

4.33 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0199977801 (ISBN13: 9780199977802)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Oxford University Press

review 1: An utterly fascinating and well researched look at privacy and shame in modern Britain. The topics covered include race, divorce/adultery, illegitimacy/adoption, the mentally disabled, and homosexuality, all in relation to shame and privacy within both the family and society. The author moves through Victorian times on through the Edwardian Era, the interwar years and then into what we would consider 'modern' times (post WWII). She also covers how the definition of privacy changes after WWII with the onset of psychoanalysis, the feminist and gay liberation movements, and society's new desire for more openness and truth telling. It was so interesting to see how different time periods dealt with a variety of 'secret' issues and how this related to propriety and familial resp... moreectability. Although this book is non-fiction it reads like a novel and I did not want to put it down. Cohen does an incredible job at engaging the reader. A definite 5 stars!
review 2: I enjoyed the first two-thirds of the book, which was more anecdotal and personal than the last part. Sometimes the process of discovery can be more interesting than what is actually discovered. The last one-third of the book was rather drier, and more like a sociology text - it seemed to lack the vitality of the first part of the book, Still, I found it worth reading, and it is very well researched. less

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