Smell in Eighteenth-Century England

A Social Sense

William Tullett

The Past and Present Book Series

Makes the case for new ways of thinking about the history of the senses, experience, and the body
Provides a wealth of new material on, and interpretations of, eighteenth-century life
Demonstrates the evolution of new ideas of 'privacy in public' and personal space in the crucible of eighteenth-century sociability
Draws on a wide range of sources: ranging from diaries, letters, and sanitary records to satirical prints, material culture, and periodicals
Reflects on the theoretical underpinnings of sensory history and establishes the importance of habituation, sensitization, and attention to understanding past practices of sensing

Smell in Eighteenth-Century England

A Social Sense

William Tullett

The Past and Present Book Series

Description

In England from the 1670s to the 1820s a transformation took place in how smell and the senses were viewed. The role of smell in developing medical and scientific knowledge came under intense scrutiny, and the equation of smell with disease was actively questioned. Yet a new interest in smell's emotive and idiosyncratic dimensions offered odour a new power in the sociable spaces of eighteenth-century England.

Using a wide range of sources from diaries, letters, and sanitary records to satirical prints, consumer objects, and magazines, William Tullett traces how individuals and communities perceived the smells around them, from paint and perfume to onions and farts. In doing so, the study challenges a popular, influential, and often cited narrative. Smell in Eighteenth-Century England is not a tale of the medicalization and deodorization of English olfactory culture. Instead, Tullett demonstrates that it was a new recognition of smell's asocial-sociability, and its capacity to create atmospheres of uncomfortable intimacy, that transformed the relationship between the senses and society.

Smell in Eighteenth-Century England

A Social Sense

William Tullett

The Past and Present Book Series

Introduction
1:Talking Dirty: Languages of Smell
2:Smell on the Streets: Occupational Odours and Sanitary Scents
3:Air and Odour: Atmospheric Investigations
4:The Smell of Drugs: Medicines, the Senses, and Efficacy
5:Metaphoric Odours: Political Corruption and Heavenly Scents
6:Tobacco's Publics: Smoking out and Snuffing in
7:Material Cultures of Scent: The Curious Smelling Bottle
8:Individual Atmospheres: Perfume and Sensory Performances
Conclusion
Bibliography

Smell in Eighteenth-Century England

A Social Sense

William Tullett

The Past and Present Book Series

Author Information

William Tullett, Lecturer in History, Anglia Ruskin University

William Tullett is a Lecturer in History at Anglia Ruskin University. He has previously taught at Queen Mary, University of London, King's College London, and the University of Derby. He held a Past and Present postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute of Historical Research. He works on the social and cultural history of England between 1650 and 1850 and especially histories of the senses, emotions, and materiality. Currently William is working on a project on sound, bells, and society in England between 1600 and 1945.

Smell in Eighteenth-Century England

A Social Sense

William Tullett

The Past and Present Book Series

Reviews and Awards

"an extremely impressive first book, which deserves to have a significant influence on its field, and on the practice of history more broadly" - Matthew McCormack, Cultural and Social History

"a tour de force ... Tullett's book is a really successful social and cultural history of how those distinctions were exploited and used to express other sorts of distinctions between people. It's very much about identities and the body." - Karen Harvey, Five Books

"Odor history is presented here convincingly as an integral part of a broad social history. So no further "hyphen story", but an innovative approach to questions about body concepts, sociability, space, gender, materiality, consumption or even politics and religion. Tullett's pointed theses offer enormous potential for connection and contradiction." - Sarah-Maria Schober, University of Zurich, Sehepunkte