The Book of Phobias and Manias: A History of the World in 99 Obsessions

(Paperback, Main)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

THE PERFECT GIFT FOR ALL BIBLIOMANIACS

A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, SPECTATOR AND DAILY MAIL

A WATERSTONES BEST POPULAR SCIENCE BOOK

Plunge into this rich and thought-provoking A-Z compendium to discover how our fixations have taken shape, from the Middle Ages to the present day, as bestselling author Kate Summerscale deftly traces the threads between the past and present, the psychological and social, the personal and the political.

'Fascinating' Malcolm Gaskill, author of the No. 1 bestseller The Ruin of All Witches

'Fascinating' Observer

'An endlessly intriguing book ... All the bibliomanes (book nutters) I know will love it' Daily Mail

Reviews

'Fascinating ... Summerscale uses the same talent for elaborating on psychological tics that made her non-fiction thriller The Suspicions Of Mr. Whicher a top bestseller' - Mail on Sunday

'This fascinating compendium traces phobias and manias through their rich social, cultural and medical history' - Hannah Beckerman

'An endlessly intriguing book' - Daily Mail

'Magnificent' - Marcus Berkmann

'Thought-provoking, eloquent and entertaining' - Fortean Times

Author Bio

Kate Summerscale is the author of the number one bestselling The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2008, winner of the Galaxy British Book of the Year Award, a Richard & Judy Book Club pick and adapted into a major ITV drama. Her debut, The Queen of Whale Cay, won a Somerset Maugham award and was shortlisted for the Whitbread biography award. The Wicked Boy, published in 2016, won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime. Her latest book, The Haunting of Alma Fielding, was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. She lives in north London.