Strangers and Intimates: The Rise and Fall of Private Life

(Hardback)

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What does it mean to have a private life From ancient times to our digital present, Strangers and Intimates traces the dramatic emergence of private life, uncovering how it became a protected domain, cherished as a space for intimacy, self-discovery and freedom. In this sweeping history, Tiffany Jenkins, an acclaimed cultural historian, takes readers on an epic journey, from the strict separations of public and private in ancient Athens to the moral rigidity of the Victorian home, and from the feminists of the 1970s who declared that 'the personal is political' to the boundary-blurring demands of our digital age. Strangers and Intimates is both a celebration of the private realm and a warning: as social media, surveillance and the expectations of constant openness reshape our lives, are we in danger of losing a part of ourselves Jenkins reveals how privacy shaped the modern world and why it remains crucial for our personal and collective freedom - and why this freedom is now in mortal danger. Today, as we share more than ever before and digital surveillance watches our every move, Jenkins asks a timely question: can private life survive the demands of the twenty-first century

Reviews

Jenkins's history of private life is more urgent than ever . . . Lucid and elegant. * Telegraph *
A brilliantly original line of investigation, taking the reader on an epic journey through the ages . . . endlessly fascinating and full of surprises -- Alice Loxton, author of Eighteen
From Tudor Treason Trials to Monica Lewinsky and beyond, this book brilliantly deploys the author's deep knowledge of literature, political ideas, as well as the history of law and of leisure . . . a tour de force. -- David Abulafia, author of The Boundless Sea
Amidst all the current narrow technological determinism, it is refreshing - and empowering - to read such a nuanced, thoughtful history of this slippery concept -- Kate Fox, author of Watching the English
From Thomas More and Oliver Cromwell to Jennicam, Big Brother and Monica Lewinsky . . . one of the most thought-provoking books Ive read in years -- Adrian Tinniswood, author of The Power and the Glory
Essential reading for all those seeking to understand the dynamics of the current privacy crisis, and why it matters that solutions are found -- David Vincent, author of A History of Solitude
A highly engaging read, timely, and impressively broad in its scope. * Literary Review *

Author Bio

Dr Tiffany Jenkins is a writer, cultural historian and broadcaster. She is the author of the acclaimed Keeping Their Marbles: How Treasures of the Past Ended Up in Museums and Why They Should Stay There. She's a former honorary fellow in the History of Art at the University of Edinburgh and a former visiting fellow in the Department of Law at the London School of Economics. She wrote and presented the BBC Radio 4 series 'A History of Secrecy' and 'Contracts of Silence', about the rise of non-disclosure agreements, and has appeared regularly as a critic on Saturday Review and Front Row. Her opinion pieces have appeared in The Guardian, The Observer, the Financial Times, the Scotsman and The Spectator. She divides her time between London and Sussex. Strangers and Intimates is her third book.