Presents a miscellany of stories about customs, traditions, and guilty pleasures pursued throughout history, from the musical revolution known as "bebop" to Nostradamus's beliefs about the aphrodisiac power of jam.
A follow-up to her popular Encyclopedia of the Exquisite, Jenkins' new book offers a string ofhistorical anecdotes structured around the hours of the day, celebrating theunusual, fantastic, and beautiful ways people have spent time throughout theages.All the Time in theWorld proffers a miscellany of customs, traditions, and pleasures peoplehave pursued throughout the ages. An antidote to the contemporary cult of gettingthings done, the book takes its cue from the medieval books of hours, whichprescribed certain readings and contemplations for various parts of the day andyear. Full of witty bons mots, interesting etymologies, and arrestinganecdotes, the book encompasses an array of cultures and eras, including ancientGreece, Renaissance Florence, 1930s Shanghai, and the Hollywood Hills of thelate 1960s, and drifts through the worlds of fashion, beauty, art, food, andtravel. Focusing on the glamorous, eccentric, unusual, and sublime, subjectscovered include the daylong ceremony of laying a royal Elizabethan tablecloth;the radicalization of sartorial chic in 1890s Paris; Nostradamus' belief in theaphrodisiac power of jam (and the book of recipes he published the same year ashis predictions); the sensuous practice of sniffing incense in fifteenthcentury Japan; the American fascination with flaming desserts; the short-livedartistic discipline of lumia, or visual music; the Ottoman Empire'sseventeenth-century ban on coffee; the magnetic atmosphere that fueled Parisianhighlife in the 1920s; Henriette d'Angeville's fearless ascent of Mont Blanc,armed with thirteen guides, twenty-four roast chickens, and eighteen bottles ofwine; the elaborate treasure hunts concocted by London's Bright Young Things;and the musical revolution known as bebop. Entertaining, unexpected, andcharming, All the Time in the Worlddigs up the forgotten treasures of the past and inspires a passion for goodliving in the present.
Entertaining, unexpected, and full of charm, the follow-up to Jessica Kerwin Jenkins’ Encyclopedia of the Exquisite presents a miscellany of engaging stories, detailing the intriguing customs, traditions, and guilty pleasures pursued throughout the ages. All the Time in the World takes its cue from an iconic component of medieval life, the book of hours, which prescribed certain readings and contemplations for certain parts of the day throughout the year. Divided into more than seventy-five entries, All the Time in the World is brimming with witty bons mots, interesting etymologies, and arresting anecdotes encompassing an array of cultures and eras. Subjects covered include the daylong ceremony of laying a royal Elizabethan tablecloth; the radicalization of sartorial chic in 1890s Paris; Nostradamus’ belief in the aphrodisiac power of jam; the sensuous practice of sniffing incense in fifteenth-century Japan; the American fascination with flaming desserts; the short-lived artistic discipline of lumia, or visual music; the evolution of coffee from a religious ritual to a forbidden delight in the Middle East; Henriette d’Angeville’s fearless and wine-fueled ascent of Mont Blanc; the elaborate treasure hunts concocted by London’s Bright Young Things; and the musical revolution known as bebop. An antidote to the contemporary cult of getting things done, All the Time in the World revives forgotten treasures of the past while inspiring a passion for good living in the present.
Lisainfo e-raamatute kohta