The Domestic Revolution

Such an interesting and highly readable work of nonfiction by one of the most prolific historical nonfiction writers of her generation. The domestic revolution is about the evolution of heating your home and other various buildings from wood to coal. She also goes into immense detail of actually cutting the wood and how that was the primary way of heat for hundreds of years and how all of that changed. If this sounds boring please believe that the way Goodman writes this a very fascinating journey through history. Highly recommend.

The lives of ordinary people can change the world. The domestic lives of those who history tends to ignore in favor of battles and grand conquests can, and does, influence far more than one might imagine. This is Ruth Goodman's premise in The Domestic Revolution: How the Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything. And she makes a more than convincing argument that the switch from wood burning to coal burning in England, starting around 1600 (despite the subtitle crediting the Victorians) did in fact change everything in Britain. Goodman specializes in living history and has decades of personal experience in wood burning and coal burning- how to burn, how to cook, and how to clean- that she shares to help flesh out the changes she describes.

Goodman introduces readers to the changing methods of heating homes and cooking by describing how peat, animal dung, wood, and coal all burn differently in a slightly tedious (yet still surprisingly interesting) beginning chapter. Things pick up after that as she explains how homes and furniture changed due to changing heating methods, from rushes and pallets to high standing beds and chairs. The unique British foods like puddings, boiled everything, and mushy peas are explained through a surprisingly simple answer: coal fires and wood fires cook foods differently. Cleaning homes and laundry are gone into in fascinating detail. This all might sound boring to some, but I found it fascinating. This detailed look into the lives of ordinary people- especially the women and servants who rarely left written accounts and whose lives must be guessed at through different approaches- gave me a great appreciation for what it would have been like to live in Britain in the past few centuries.

The Domestic Revolution is a fascinating, well-researched, and well-written book that will appeal to historians, students, casual readers, and anyone interested in how the lives of ordinary people changed with the popularizing of coal burning fires.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I'm not exactly how this title made me decide I wanted to read a book about the history of coal stoves, something I've never given any thought to before, but then I couldn't put it down.

Goodman starts with forestry, shares all sorts of facts about the coal industry, shows us how coal reshaped our homes and our furnishings, and how coal shifted the way we eat. Her breadth of knowledge is incredible and her lived experience with the topic makes it fascinating.

I had no idea she's a celebrity historian with a TV series behind her, but reading this makes it clear why. As soon as I finished this I picked up two of her previous books, which were just as interesting and enjoyable to read.