An Economist Book of the Year
'An intricate cultural history . . . Thought-provoking’ – The Sunday Times
'Brilliantly original . . . Endlessly fascinating’ – Alice Loxton, author of Eighteen
'Lucid and elegant’ – The Daily Telegraph

From ancient times to our digital present, Strangers and Intimates traces the dramatic emergence of private life, and argues that it is now in mortal danger.

In this sweeping history, acclaimed cultural historian Tiffany Jenkins takes readers on an epic journey, from the strict separations of public and private in ancient Athens to the moral rigidity of the Victorian home, and from the feminists of the 1970s – who declared that ‘the personal is political’ – to the boundary-blurring demands of our digital age.

Strangers and Intimates is both a celebration of the private realm and a warning: as social media, surveillance and the expectations of constant openness reshape our lives, Jenkins asks a timely question: can private life survive the demands of the twenty-first century?

"Compelling . . . This is the sort of history book that makes you look at all history anew'" - New Scientist

"Jenkins's history of private life is more urgent than ever . . . Lucid and elegant" - Telegraph

"Well written and always provocative" - The Observer

"A magisterial intellectual history of an important and evolving concept . . . timely and compelling." - Times Literary Supplement

"An impassioned argument . . . Jenkins deploys an array of lively anecdotes to make her case. [Strangers and Intimates] is a far-reaching - occasionally dizzying - book" - The Financial Times

"A highly engaging read, timely, and impressively broad in its scope" - Literary Review

"A stimulating history" - New Statesman

"Jenkins delivers a substantial but still nimble exploration of the modern notion of 'private life' . . . An eye-opening study of the value of keeping some things unseen" - Publishers Weekly

"Superb . . . Every page offers fresh revelations . . . Sharp, insightful analysis." - Spiked