The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women’s Lives, 1660-1900

The unexpected story of an essential 18th and 19th century accessory

This fascinating and enlightening study of the tie-on pocket combines materiality and gender to provide new insight into the social history of women’s everyday lives-from duchesses and country gentry to prostitutes and washerwomen-and to explore their consumption practices, sociability, mobility, privacy, and identity. A wealth of evidence reveals unexpected facets of the past, bringing women’s stories into intimate focus.

What particularly interests Burman and Fennetaux is the way in which women of all classes have historically used these tie-on pockets as a supplementary body part to help them negotiate their way through a world that was not built to suit them. -Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian

A riveting book … few stones are left unturned. -Roberta Smith’s Top Art Books of 2019, The New York Times

A brilliant book. -Ulinka Rublack, Times Literary Supplement