Corsets and Codpieces
A History of Outrageous Fashion, from Roman Times to the Modern Era
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Narrated by:
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Susan Duerden
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By:
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Karen Bowman
About this listen
Have you ever wondered why we wear the type of clothes we do? Packed with outlandish outfits, this exciting history of fashion trends reveals the flamboyant fashions adopted (and discarded) by our ancestors.
In the days before cosmetic surgery, people used bum rolls and bombastic breeches to augment their figures, painted their faces with poisonous concoctions, and doused themselves with scent to cover body odor.
Take a fresh look at history's hidden fashion disasters and discover some of the stories behind historical garments:
- How removing a medieval woman's headdress could reveal her as a harlot
- Why Tudor men traded in their oversized codpieces for corsets
- How crinoline caused a spate of shoplifting among Victorian ladies
Karen Bowman charts our sartorial history from the animal skins first used to cover our modesty and show off hunting skills, right up to the twentieth-century drive for practicality and comfort. Corsets and Codpieces is a fascinating listen for history buffs and fashionistas alike.
©2015 Karen Bowman (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Victorian Secrets
- What a Corset Taught Me about the Past, the Present, and Myself
- By: Sarah A. Chrisman
- Narrated by: Kristin Kalbli
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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On Sarah A. Chrisman's 29th birthday, her husband, Gabriel, presented her with a corset. The material and the design were breathtakingly beautiful, but her mind immediately filled with unwelcome views. Although she had been in love with the Victorian era all her life, she had specifically asked her husband not to buy her a corset - ever. She'd heard how corsets affected the female body and what they represented, and she wanted none of it.
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Exploration of Vanity
- By Sara on 09-08-14
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Alice Behind Wonderland
- By: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 2 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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On a summer's day in 1858, in a garden behind Christ Church College in Oxford, Charles Dodgson, a lecturer in mathematics, photographed six-year-old Alice Liddell, the daughter of the college dean, with a Thomas Ottewill Registered Double Folding camera, recently purchased in London. Simon Winchester deftly uses the resulting image - as unsettling as it is famous, and the subject of bottomless speculation - as the vehicle for a brief excursion behind the lens, a focal point on the origins of a classic work of English literature.
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Not Long Enough
- By thefrogman on 06-18-12
By: Simon Winchester
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Castles, Customs, and Kings
- True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors
- By: Debra Brown, M.M. Bennetts
- Narrated by: Ruth Golding
- Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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A compilation of essays from the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, this book provides a wealth of historical information from Roman Britain to early 20th-century England. Over 50 different authors share hundreds of real life stories and tantalizing tidbits discovered while doing research for their own historical novels.
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Historical Tidbits
- By Troy on 08-03-15
By: Debra Brown, and others
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The Husband Hunters
- American Heiresses Who Married into the British Aristocracy
- By: Anne de Courcy
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Towards the end of the 19th century and for the first few years of the 20th, a strange invasion took place in Britain. The citadel of power, privilege, and breeding in which the titled, land-owning governing class had barricaded itself for so long was breached. The incomers were a group of young women who, 50 years earlier, would have been looked on as the alien denizens of another world - the New World, to be precise. From 1874 - the year that Jennie Jerome, the first known "Dollar Princess", married Randolph Churchill - to 1905, dozens of young American heiresses married into the British peerage....
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Bondfide Valuable History Lesson
- By A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. on 09-21-18
By: Anne de Courcy
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Mademoiselle
- Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History
- By: Rhonda Garelick
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Little black dresses. Fake pearls. Jersey knit. Blazers. Ballet flats. Today - and for nearly the last hundred years - we all see some version of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel every time we pass a woman on the street. But few among us realize that Chanel’s role in the events of the twentieth century was as pervasive as her influence on fashion, or how deeply she absorbed and then brilliantly reimagined the historical currents around her.
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An Unlikable Portrait
- By Sara on 09-25-16
By: Rhonda Garelick
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Regency Etiquette
- The Mirror of Graces (1811); or The English Lady's Costume
- By: A Lady of Distinction
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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This book, written by a woman who wished to remain anonymous, covers the social customs and manners of her time, the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the times of Jane Austen and of Napoleon. It is devoted in large part to the "English lady's costume" but also covers deportment, movement, the correct dances, propriety, and aids to beauty and health.
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A treasure for scholars and writers
- By Kestrel on 12-15-07
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The Golden Thread
- How Fabric Changed History
- By: Kassia St. Clair
- Narrated by: Helen Johns
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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From colorful 30,000-year-old threads found on the floor of a Georgian cave to the Indian calicoes that sparked the Industrial Revolution, The Golden Thread weaves an illuminating story of human ingenuity. Design journalist Kassia St. Clair guides us through the technological advancements and cultural customs that would redefine human civilization - from the fabric that allowed mankind to achieve extraordinary things (traverse the oceans and shatter athletic records) and survive in unlikely places (outer space and the South Pole).
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Excellent for those interested in textiles
- By Adeliese Baumann on 12-14-19
By: Kassia St. Clair
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If Walls Could Talk
- An Intimate History of the Home
- By: Lucy Worsley
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did medieval people sleep sitting up? When were the two "dirty centuries?" Why did gas lighting cause Victorian ladies to faint? Why, for centuries, did rich people fear fruit?In her brilliantly and creatively researched book, Lucy Worsley takes us through the bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen.
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Compelling.
- By Kirsten on 06-05-12
By: Lucy Worsley
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The True History of the Elephant Man
- The Definitive Account of the Tragic and Extraordinary Life of Joseph Carey Merrick
- By: Michael Howell, Peter Ford
- Narrated by: Steve West
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Due to horrible physical deformities, he spent much of his life as a fairground freak. He was hounded, persecuted, and starving, until his fortune changed and he was rescued, housed, and fed by the distinguished surgeon, Frederick Treves. The subject of several books, a Broadway hit, and a film, Joseph Merrick has become part of popular mythology. Here, in this fully revised edition containing much fresh information, are the true and un-romanticized facts of his life.
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Amazing man!
- By Carolyn on 02-05-15
By: Michael Howell, and others
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Flapper
- A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern
- By: Joshua Zeitz
- Narrated by: Daniella Rabbani
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Blithely flinging aside the Victorian manners that kept her disapproving mother corseted, the New Woman of the 1920's puffed cigarettes, snuck gin, hiked her hemlines, danced the Charleston, and necked in roadsters. More important, she earned her own keep, controlled her own destiny, and secured liberties that modern women take for granted. Her newfound freedom heralded a radical change in American culture.
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Good Book, Poor Performance
- By redsrule1 on 03-16-14
By: Joshua Zeitz
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The Housekeeper's Tale
- The Women Who Really Ran the English Country House
- By: Tessa Boase
- Narrated by: Tessa Boase
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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The Housekeeper's Tale reveals the personal sacrifices, bitter disputes and driving ambition that shaped these women's careers. Using secret diaries, unpublished letters, and the neglected service archives of our stately homes, Tessa Boase tells the extraordinary stories of five working women who ran some of Britain's most prominent households.
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Utterly intriguing
- By Pamela Jane on 09-14-17
By: Tessa Boase
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Mary
- Mrs. A. Lincoln
- By: Janis Cooke Newman
- Narrated by: Anne Buelteman
- Length: 26 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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A fascinating and intimate novel of the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, narrated by the First Lady herself. Mary Todd Lincoln is one of history's most misunderstood and enigmatic women. She was a political strategist, a supporter of emancipation, and a mother who survived the loss of three children and the assassination of her beloved husband. She also ran her family into debt, held séances in the White House, and was committed to an insane asylum - which is where Janis Cooke Newman's debut novel begins.
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Intriguing and well-written, Worst editing EVER.
- By Danielle on 03-21-15
What listeners say about Corsets and Codpieces
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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it would have been a more interesting story except
except for the reader - she was horrible - love history but would have.never picked this book to LISTEN to. . ,
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- Sidney Lee Schnepf
- 04-25-18
Figured I might as well get the audiobook
I thought about getting the print version, since I assume I'm missing our on some illustrations by listening to the audiobook. But since I tend to listen to nonfiction audiobooks more quickly than I read nonfiction books, I might as well go for it. I do wish the emphasis on England had been more apparent before I started listening; it isn't a downside at all, just not what I was expecting. I definitely noticed that the reader was very breathy when the audiobook started, but I got used to it after a couple hours. Also had one of my roommates wander out while I was cooking and listening, because it sounded "very exciting, in a British way." I've already recommended this to several friends who are theater/costuming people, and relayed several of the amusing incidents in this book in general conversation.
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1 person found this helpful
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- jemm
- 07-07-20
Astounding !
amazing historical fashion book. well narrated. made my week. i enjoyed the quirky and honest presentation. lots of information,for fashionistas and fashion designers will love this book :)
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- Erin DeJesus
- 12-27-19
very interesting
I loved the narrators voice and how she reads! this was a very interesting look into the pain and beauty of women's fashion and quiet interesting things to learn.
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- Michael Anthony Wright
- 02-23-23
Very entertaining
I think the narrator was kind of bland at times, but the information was interesting nonetheless.
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- Aiden M
- 12-09-23
fascinating!!
I've been following and studying fashion history mostly as a hobby since middle and highschool and wanted to start reading more up on things. I love the amount of detail in this reading and while I wish it had a few more angles it was interesting hearing more details on the downsides of some fashion choices. I practice historical dress for events and sew quite a bit there are definitely many ways to dress comfortably and safely.
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- Mr. Fox
- 06-13-18
Mediocre At Best
This book, touted as a history of ‘outrageous fashion’ gives a very narrow view into the fashion world of England and France in the time period presented.
It does present a technically correct history of fashion, but gives no in depth analysis of that history—or really, any analysis at all!
There is little to no context for the clothes described, or the social implications that they aroused (past being mocked, ridiculed, and/or legislated against, all of which is glossed over again and again).
The narration is breathless and read as though there is shock and awe in every sentence. There is not.
All in all, this could have been a fascinating book, and was poorly researched, written sloppily, and badly narrated.
Read something else instead.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Marvin Lewis
- 02-06-19
Horrible narration. Anglocentric
It should be noted that this book is solely about British fashion. It excludes the rest of the world almost completely.
I’ve heard robots with more variety in their cadence. Monotonous and boring to listen too. This is one that would be better read oneself than listened to.
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- Interregnum Rex
- 08-26-17
A poorly researched and weirdly sexist read
Let's put aside the complete historical apocrypha frequently referenced as fact throughout and address the author's homophobia (in their disgust for the 'foppishness' of previous ages) and sexism. It's pretty bizarre that the author of a treatise on the history of fashion would spend almost all their time discussing the male reaction to women's fashion choices, particularly in the 19th century section, with absolutely zero critical eye on why these comments were being made, and almost no references to what the women themselves thought at the time. The chunk on crinolines is the most extreme example. It lacks any historical context, and implies women who died by accidentally burning to death were at fault, offering up a single article by a woman in defence if the fashion after running through literally an entire chapter of male voices decrying them and mocking women who died while wearing them. Gross.
Acknowledgement of women's contributions to a heavily female-focused art form are cursory - with the author vastly preferring to spend a majority of her time discussing the reactions of male preachers and politicians to fashion. That would be fine if she made an effort to offer any historical context of any kind, which she does not. Where sexism is acknowledged, it somehow also manages to be very strange and gross - a preacher is "within his bounds" to say bobbing a woman's hair is disgusting according to scripture, but goes "a sexist step too far" only when he makes a separate comment. I think this is an attempt by the author to acknowledge historical context, but even so, it's clumsily done and doesn't make whatever point she was driving at.
At its best the book is sometimes entertaining, but it is consistently poorly written and researched. A waste of time for anyone interested in serious discussions of fashion history in a social context.
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35 people found this helpful