Author: Melanie King
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781851244539
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 224
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Book Description
English spas have a long and steamy history, from the thermal baths of Aquae Sulis in Bath to the stews of Southwark, the elegant pump rooms of Cheltenham and Buxton to the Victorian mania for hydrotherapy and Turkish hammams. 'The Secret History of English Spas' is an informative but light-hearted social and cultural history of our obsession with drinking and bathing in spa waters. It tells the stories of the rich, the famous, the poor and the sick, all of whom visited spas in hopes of curing everything from infertility to leprosy and gonorrhoea. It depicts the entrepreneurs who promoted these resorts - often on the basis of the most dubious scientific evidence - and the riotous and salacious social life enjoyed in spa towns, where moral health might suffer even as bodies were cleansed and purged. And yet English spas also offered an ideal of civility and politeness, providing a place where social classes and sexes could mingle and enjoy refined entertainments such as music and dance - all part of the fashionable pastime referred to as 'taking the waters'.
Author: Catherine Bardey
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal
ISBN: 9781579120634
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 200
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Book Description
Introducing a new series of clever little boxes with tops that slide off to reveal a deck of 52 cards inside. Each card features a recipe and detailed instructions on one side, and a rich, full-color photograph on the other. Sumptuous spa treatments don't have to cost a fortune when you follow these simple recipes for revitalizing, deep cleaning, moisturizing and relaxing your body and mind--all illustrated and packaged in a convenient pack of individual cards.
Author: William Addison
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : England
Languages : en
Pages : 152
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Book Description
Author: Phyllis May Hembry
Publisher: Associated University Presse
ISBN: 9780838633915
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 448
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Book Description
Beginning in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, members of the English nobility and gentry made a practice of taking relaxation at the country's inland spas. This account shows the spas to have been not only centers of healing and recreating but also venues of intrigue extending to political, religious, economic, and social issues.
Author: Ian Bradley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0755626664
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 313
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Book Description
Delve into the history behind the glamorous baths and spas of Europe to reveal the hidden past of alternative treatments. Popular with people from Romans to royalty and hypochondriacs to holiday-makers, natural water spas have been a common feature in society since the first century. Even today, we periodically abandon the cities to 'take the waters'. In their heyday, Europe's spas were the main meeting places for aristocracy, politicians and cultural elites. They were the centres of political and diplomatic intrigue, and were fertile sources of artistic, literary and musical inspiration. The spas epitomised style and were renowned for their cosmopolitan atmosphere in a glittering whirl of balls, gambling and affairs, as much as for their healing waters. Health, Hedonism and Hypochondria reveals the hidden histories of traditional spas of Europe, including such well-known resorts as the original Spa in Belgium; Bath, Buxton and Harrogate in Britain; Baden-Baden and Bad Ems in Germany; Vichy and Aix-les-Bains in France; Bad Ragaz in Switzerland; Bad Ischl and Baden bei Wien in Austria and Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázne in the Czech Republic. At once luxurious sanctuaries of relaxation and resorts of the upper classes, these spas were also the haunts of melancholics, scoundrels and those seeking escape and excitement.
Author: Ian Rotherham
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0747814740
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 57
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Book Description
The British spa came into its own in the Georgian period, with thousands flocking to take the waters at Bath, Cheltenham and Tunbridge Wells as well as numerous other towns. As these towns grew, their reputation as fashionable destinations became as or more important than the benefits of bathing, which in any case often involved immersion in water tainted by dirt and diseases from fellow bathers. Ian D. Rotherham here traces the story of the British spa back to Roman and medieval times, through their heyday in Georgian and Victorian Britain and right up to their decline in the twentieth century and recent revival. With a wealth of colourful illustrations, this book is a perfect introduction to changing attitudes to public bathing and health, and describes the rise of some of Britain's most famous towns.
Author: Gary S. Cross
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1479813079
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 353
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Book Description
"In a sweeping historical analysis, Gary Cross explains why affluence in America has not freed more time from work and why free time is often frustrating"--
Author: Shannon Burson Smith
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781434329233
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 120
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Book Description
How does one summarize a life? Could one truly cut it all down to actions done, or words said? Zachary Lawson narrates a few months of his life with complete honesty. From a shattered past, to the creation of new memories written on napkins in the smoking section at Denny's, he enlightens the reader to the realities of a life lived in a generation quickly destroying itself. Zachary Lawson isn't the protagonist, he isn't a hero, he's just a man trying to get there. This book won't warm hearts, but it just might open a generation's eyes to its alcoholism induced genocide. Desperation may be contagious, but it isn't the end.
Author: Jill Santopolo
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1442473800
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 128
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Book Description
Sisters Aly and Brooke Tanner are desperate for their mom to allow them to open their own nail salon in the back of hers. But when they get their wish, they discover that wishing and dreaming about their salon is much different from the reality of running it.
Author: William Buchan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781851243822
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
What common condition can be treated with cow dung? How do crushed oystershells ease heartburn? Can eels cure deafness? And how do you stop a stubborn case of the hiccups? If someone was struck down by illness or injury in the late eighteenth century, the chances are that they would have referred to William Buchan's Domestic Medicine - with the result that they might have found themselves drinking a broth made from sheep brain or administering drops of urine in their ears. The book's author, a Scottish physician, published his self-help manual in 1769 specifically for the benefit of people who were unable readily to access or afford medical assistance. Copies could be found in coffee-houses, in apothecary shops and private households, and in 1789 Fletcher Christian and his fellow mutineers took the sensible precaution of grabbing the copy from HMS Bounty before they fled to Pitcairn Island. Much of Dr Buchan's advice on how to live a healthy life and avoid disease is still sound and relevant today, such as eating a varied and healthy diet, breathing plenty of fresh air, and taking exercise. Many of his prescriptions are amusing when viewed in retrospect, such as his fondness for powdered Spanish fly and genital trusses. Other recommendations - bleeding a woman experiencing a difficult childbirth or administering mercury to treat numerous ailments - were downright dangerous. This edited selection of entries from one of the first medical self-help manuals gives a fascinating insight into popular treatments of the eighteenth century, derived both from folklore and the emerging medical science of the day.
