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The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History Paperback – Illustrated, October 28, 2008

by Katherine Ashenburg (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 224 ratings
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A spirited chronicle of the West's ambivalent relationship with dirt

The question of cleanliness is one every age and culture has answered with confidence. For the first-century Roman, being clean meant a two-hour soak in baths of various temperatures, scraping the body with a miniature rake, and a final application of oil. For the aristocratic Frenchman in the seventeenth century, it meant changing your shirt once a day and perhaps going so far as to dip your hands in some water. Did Napoleon know something we didn't when he wrote Josephine "I will return in five days. Stop washing"? And why is the German term Warmduscher―a man who washes in warm or hot water―invariably a slight against his masculinity? Katherine Ashenburg takes on such fascinating questions as these in Dirt on Clean, her charming tour of attitudes to hygiene through time.

What could be more routine than taking up soap and water and washing yourself? And yet cleanliness, or the lack of it, is intimately connected to ideas as large as spirituality and sexuality, and historical events that include plagues, the Civil War, and the discovery of germs. An engrossing fusion of erudition and anecdote, Dirt on Clean considers the bizarre prescriptions of history's doctors, the hygienic peccadilloes of great authors, and the historic twists and turns that have brought us to a place Ashenburg considers hedonistic yet oversanitized.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    North Point Press
  4. Publication date
    October 28, 2008
  5. Grade level
    4 - 7
  6. Reading age
    14 - 17 years
  7. Dimensions
    6 x 0.82 x 9 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0374531374
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0374531379
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Brimming with lively anecdotes, this well-researched, smartly paced and endearing history of Western cleanliness holds a welcome mirror up to our intimate selves, revealing deep-seated desires and fears spanning 2000-plus years.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Dozens of charming illustrations distinguish a book notable for its engaging design as well as its illuminating content.” ―Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Katherine Ashenburg is a journalist, lecturer, and regular contributor to The New York Times. Her books include The Mourner’s Dance and The Dirt on Clean.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ North Point Press; First Edition (October 28, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0374531374
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0374531379
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 - 17 years
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 4 - 7
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.82 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 224 ratings

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Katherine Ashenburg

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
224 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

wylie smith
5.0 out of 5 stars cleanliness as part of cultural values
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2023
Verified Purchase
I read this book when it came out and loved it. I enjoyed just just as much this second time around. in the prologue, "But didn't they smell?," Ashenburg makes it clear that dirt and smells are affected by cultural norms and everyday life. If one lives with a smell day after day, it is no longer unique nor even very offensive. Ashenburg recounts the recent American past in which tobacco was all pervasive yet no one remarks on the offputting smell. No one since James I that I can remember at least. So besides giving us a history of cleanliness, or perhaps uncleanliness, Ashenburg is also making social commentary on the behvior within a culture. A subtle example of this is found comparing the sales of Listerine before and after advertising. One might say that listerine almost became ubiquitous. Ashenburg points out how advertising introduced 'standards' that belittled people, especially women, and encouraged/demanded that they buy products to cover up/eliminate. I see that someone criticized this book for being anti-American, but I thought that the criticisms were really about advertising lowering the self-esteem of Americans to sell more product. But then I suppse selling product is a quintessentially American trait.
Admittedly my values have been shaped by growing up in the States, so I found anecdotes like defecating in Versailles somewhat nauseous (okay, I'll skip a trip in the way-back machine) and how late bathrooms came into being. I found much of this book enlightening in filling in the blanks of standard histories and biographies. But Ashenburg had me laughing as well. Talk about an enjoyable read!
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Holly Welker
4.0 out of 5 stars thoroughly engaging, informative read
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2018
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I read this almost a decade ago as research for a project I didn't get around to tackling until recently, and I figured I should reread Ashenburg's book so my understanding of her analysis is fresh.

And I enjoyed it just as much the second time through as I did the first. It's a thoroughly engaging, informative read that both makes me think and makes me feel lucky to have access to good sanitation. I highly recommend it.
One person found this helpful
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Thomas M. Sullivan
5.0 out of 5 stars The Ablution Solution
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2010
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This terrific book ranks right up there with `Inside the Victorian Home' and `Taste: The Story of Britain Through Its Cooking' as the kind of social History which adds essential context and meaning to the more common `lives' and `events' accounts we buffs usually devour in the normal course of our reading endeavors. Ms. Ashenburg presents a light-hearted but thoroughgoing look at `dirt' through the ages, particularly as it relates to human hygiene which has ranged from the Roman `clean as a whistle' to the medieval `dirty as a dog,' and does it with solid scholarship and a wry smile. I was in the midst of the read when I caught a re-run of an episode of `The Tudors', Showtime's often fatuous but highly entertaining account of the reign of Henry VIII, and it occurred to me that the judicious if anachronistic application of a little Prell and a bit of Dial might have saved two lives. Thomas Cromwell arranged Henry's marriage to the German princess Anne of Cleves. Henry took one, uh, sniff and pronounced her unacceptable because of her malevolent odors (this coming from a man whose famously stinky `un-healable' abscess made all around him hold their noses...and their tongues). Henry both separated himself from Anne and Cromwell's head from his torso and went on to marry Catherine Howard, a notorious tart who lasted months before having her date with the ax man. Just think if Henry had found Anne as fragrant as the Tudor rose. Would Cromwell have lived to spin more intrigues and Catherine to bed more courtiers? As recounted by Ms. Ashenburg, John Wesley is generally credited with the maxim, "Cleanliness is next to godliness." He might have added it can be a downright lifesaver.

Don't be put off by the somewhat ungainly title. `The Dirt on Clean' is a delightful read. So you'll be taking more showers and washing your hands with distressing regularity...it's worth it.
8 people found this helpful
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R. C. OConnor
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2016
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Kind of slow but thorough.
One person found this helpful
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Carol A. Strickland
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun and informative read
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2013
Verified Purchase
I hated to see this book end. The text is presented in a breezy, very readable fashion and there are any number of curious illustrations to peruse. I learned so much about historical Western cleanliness that I may never read another historical romance! I mean, ew, they didn't even wash their hands at some points!

It would have been nice to get a non-Western history as well, but that could well be saved for another book and/or author. As it is, I'd recommend this book for curious people as well as writers (and readers) of historicals. And for those who are worried that perhaps they're missing being completely clean in today's über-fastidious America. (btw, I'm going to steal "Nacirema" for one of my novels. Too bizarre!)

Loved it! Commented all over Facebook about it. It's going on one of my "keeper" shelves.
5 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting But Limited
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2017
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An interesting discussion of how humans stayed clean, or not, over the past two millennia. Unfortunately it is limited mostly to western European cultures and
there's nothing about societies past about 2000 years ago. Most of the discussion centers on changes over the past 1000 years. I still learned quite a bit about a subject that seems not to be taught in schools.
One person found this helpful
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Yuliana
5.0 out of 5 stars Eye opener book
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2018
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I am amazed that we have the chance nowadays to enjoy daily showers, toilets, and many other luxuries that in other times were so far from daily life as described in this book. The evolution of hygiene is very very interesting as it crosses so many other historic landmarks, and how it changes depending on the different cultures.
What we see from other epochs, from sculptures and paintings is certainly not what we would have smelled!
I read it once. And I plan to read it again soon. It gives material for very entertaining conversations.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Jorge Martínez Sánchez
5.0 out of 5 stars Un gozo.
Reviewed in Mexico on November 10, 2017
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Al fin encuentro una autocrítica justificada, sensata y entretenida sobre la misofobia estadounidense. Los últimos párrafos son gloriosos, apreciables sólo tras leer lo anterior.
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Cristina
5.0 out of 5 stars Muy interesante
Reviewed in Spain on July 2, 2016
Verified Purchase
De lectura amena, es muy ilustrativo de nuestra civilización. El único "pero" que le pongo es que a veces es un poco pesado con las cifras, pero por otra parte son necesarias para ver la evolución de la higiene en nuestra cultura occidental. Muy recomendable y se aprenden muchos datos curiosos.
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Gustav A. Richar
5.0 out of 5 stars Eye Opener
Reviewed in Canada on July 28, 2010
Verified Purchase
The author shows any curious reader the fluctuations of human cleanliness--well, mostly uncleanliness--from ancient Rome to our days. This is a well-researched book, which took the author four years to write and edit. It is a treasure chest offering the oddities of beliefs regarding the human body. For centuries "not washing" yourself was considered healthy and supported by medical doctors. The author reports about unbelievable deficiencies [forwarded by medical people of consequence] for "healthy" dirt and stench.

Exceptionally revealing are the vignettes offered on most pages like: how to cure the goat-like stench of armpits or when the chamber pots were emptied onto the streets of Madrid or where in Europe "the devout do not wash their bottoms." This would be a great read while, after a day's work, commuting home in an overcrowded subway, tram, or bus, with their many human smells filling the space.

But there's also another aspect. Whenever I watch now a movie set in--say--1720, I can imagine what's missing in this movie: dirt, filth, and the invisible stink.

This is a fascinating book.
3 people found this helpful
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Laura O'Reilly
5.0 out of 5 stars A Quriky little book about being Clean
Reviewed in Canada on October 9, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book has everything you could want for a biography.
The author goes through each century and along the way she give you little tid-bits and fun facts or stories that make this look light, fun and breezy.
You never realize how clean people where back in Roman/Greek times and how dirty we were in Medieval times, or how wrap our sense of clean has become now, we are OVER clean.
One person found this helpful
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Karen Lewis-Caron
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Un-Bathroom Reader book yet
Reviewed in Canada on September 28, 2014
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We read this book in our book club. It was a fascinating, funny, educational, enthralling book. We had lots to talk about and learned a lot about the history and the evolution of "cleanliness" as we know it today. Definitely worth reading and a book I will keep.
One person found this helpful
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