Books & Poetry

One of life’s few certainties is that if we don’t wash, we stink. Throughout history, society has wrestled with the question of cleanliness, with different ages and cultures arriving at vastly different conclusions. Why did the first-century Romans develop a bathing obsession, spending at least two hours soaking every day? Why did medieval noblemen believe they were better off covered in dirt? And why is the German word warmduscher (a man who washes in warm water) used as a slight against masculinity? In ‘Clean’, Ashenburg rolls up her sleeves and takes us on an engaging tour of hygiene through the ages.

Her masterful mix of erudition and anecdote makes this a fascinating, fast-paced read. It’s the history that’s
hinted at but never taught, from bawdy bathhouse tales to now-hilarious scientific notions such as the supposed cleansing properties of linen. Examples are plentiful as we learn about the filthy habits of the French aristocracy before the Revolution, how fear of the plague put an end to public baths, the vials of gladiator oil and sweat that Roman women used as face cream, and Charles Dickens’ fixed belief in the benefits of a cold shower.

As we zoom through history towards today’s over-sanitised age, where ‘germaphobes’ shake hands with their elbows, Ashenburg’s central thesis floats to the grimy surface. More than just a witty insight into washing, her book confronts our obsession with preening, plucking and perfuming our bodies so that we smell less like humans and more like exotic fruits.

In identifying the links between cleanliness and spirituality, sexuality, politics and racial oppression (the
Nazis promoted the idea of Jewish uncleanliness), she concludes that different cultures form their own definitions of ‘clean’, picking a point somewhere between squalor and fastidiousness. As she succinctly puts it: ‘Even more so than in the eye or nose, cleanliness exists in the mind of the beholder… It follows that hygiene has always been a convenient stick with which to beat others, who never seem
to get it right.’

Thought-provoking, charming and great fodder for dinner-party chat, this is a memorable read.