the Domestic Revolution: How Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything in Bloomington, MN

“Our domestic Sherlock brims with excitement” (Roger Lowenstein,
Wall Street Journal)
in this erudite romp through the smoke-stained, coal-fired houses of Victorian England.
“The queen of living history” (Lucy Worsley) dazzles anglophiles and history lovers alike with this immersive account of how English women sparked a worldwide revolution—from their own kitchens. Wielding the same wit and passion as seen in
How to Be a Victorian
, Ruth Goodman shows that the hot coal stove provided so much more than morning tea. As Goodman traces the amazing shift from wood to coal in mid-sixteenth century England, a pattern of innovation emerges as the women stoking these fires also stoked new global industries: from better soap to clean smudges to new ingredients for cooking. Laced with irresistibly charming anecdotes of Goodman’s own experience managing a coal-fired household,
The Domestic Revolution
shines a hot light on the power of domestic necessity.