The Book of Revelations

£12.99

How have secrets changed over the generations, and what does that tell us about ourselves and our world? In her intimate new book, bestselling social historian Juliet Nicolson uncovers one of the most enigmatic yet revealing aspects of human behaviour. According to a leading American psychotherapist most of us are keeping 13 secrets at any one time. Secrets can thrill, but they are just as likely to torment; and the deepest ones echo far down the generations. The secrets we keep inside reflect the conventions and taboos of the world outside. As women traditionally sit at the heart of family life, their secrets can open a unique window onto wider society. The book unlocks a period of significant transformation for women, from the restrictions just after WWII, through the emancipation of the 1960s and 1970s, to the opportunities and dangers women meet online today.

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Description

‘Utterly engrossing and timely’ INDIA KNIGHT
‘A true act of bravery and sisterhood’ ELIZABETH DAY
‘Fascinating?truly valuable’ JULIA SAMUEL
‘I gobbled this book up. It’s a gem’ HELEN BONHAM CARTER

A fascinating blend of social history and first-person stories looking at women and their secrets – and what they tell us about our changing times

Do you want to know a secret?

The average person is keeping thirteen secrets at any one time, five of which they’ve never shared with a soul. A secret can thrill one person and destroy another; and the deepest ones echo far down the generations.

The Book of Revelations is a book about the secrets women keep: the ones they are forced into, the ones they hold through shame, and the ones they share. Told through a kaleidoscopic blend of first-person stories and memoir, from the ‘silent generation’ of women in the 1950s to the influencers of the 2020s, we witness long-buried family secrets aired at last and the repercussions which occur when women who have been forced to keep quiet find their voice. Finally, we are compelled to wonder whether women are once again in danger of being silenced by censure, caution and fear.

‘A fascinating hybrid of memoir and social history… transforms the highly personal into something universal’ London Standard

‘A time-travelling investigation… it has a depth charge and a sense of the now that is so timely and important’ Jeanette Winterson

Read a sample here

Additional information

Weight 0.268 kg
Dimensions 19.8 × 13.3 × 2.7 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

371

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

305.4 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K