At Day's Close

A fascinating and colourful social history of the nighttime.

'A wonderful revelation of a vanished age of darkness' SPECTATOR

'Fascinating' SUNDAY TIMES

'A splendid book ... great entertainment' Sir Patrick Moore

'A triumph of social history. Almost every page contains something to surprise the reader ... one of the most enjoyable literary experiences of the year' MAIL ON SUNDAY

From blanket fairs to night kings, curfews to crime, At Day's Close is an intriguing and captivating investigation into the night. Until now, this rich and complex universe in which we spend nearly half of our lives was a world long-lost to historians.

Here, Ekirch explores how the night was lived in the past, through travel accounts, memoirs, letters, folklore, poems, court records and coroner's reports. More than this, it is a passionate argument in the case for less artificial light in an increasingly bright world.

“A wonderful revelation of a vanished age of darkness - SpectatorA triumph of social history. Almost every page contains something to surprise the reader ... one of the most enjoyable literary experiences of the year - MAIL ON SUNDAYA splendid book ... great entertainmentWonderful... Ekirch spares no pains to rediscover the lost world of the dark. ... A book that can't be summarised but must be experienced - LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKSIn his fascinating survey of the dark hours of the pre-industrial era, A Roger Ekirch takes us deep into an age when the very lack of light threw life into confusion[an] engrossing book that illuminates the darker recesses of the past - Sunday TelegraphA comprehensive account of nightlife...bursting with esoteric and well-sourced information about everything from candles and curfews to church bells and chamber pots - Evening Standard”

A wonderful revelation of a vanished age of darkness SPECTATOR
A triumph of social history. Almost every page contains something to surprise the reader ... one of the most enjoyable literary experiences of the year MAIL ON SUNDAY
An enthralling anthropology of the shadow reals of Western Europe from the late Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution ... a passionate case against too much artificial light HARPER'S MAGAZINE
In his fascinating survey of the dark hours of the pre-industrial era, A Roger Ekirch takes us deep into an age when the very lack of light threw life into confusion ... an engrossing book that illuminates the darker recesses of the past SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
Meticulously researched ... AT DAY'S CLOSE is a splendid book ... great entertainment, and to social historians it will be of immense value -- Sir Patrick Moore TIMES HIGHER EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT
A comprehensive account of nightlife...bursting with esoteric and well-sourced information about everything from candles and curfews to church bells and chamber pots EVENING STANDARD
Wonderful... Ekirch spares no pains to rediscover the lost world of the dark ... A book that can't be summarised but must be experienced -- David Wootton LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS
Just the sort of browsable treat guaranteed to cause insomnia THE SCOTSMAN
Night-time has been curiously ignored by social historians. This fine book corrects that lack ... Entertaining and informative THE TIMES
Ekirch's absorbing history reveals an alternative universe shaped by real and imaginary perils SUNDAY TIMES
Fascinating ... exploring what went on at night between 1500 and 1830 ... Here are microcultural tales of pirates and robbers, blanket fairs (people climbing into bed together to talk before going to sleep), curtain lectures (wives who felt emboldened by the dark to complain to their recumbent husbands) and night-kings (sewer cleaners in German) GUARDIAN
The book is especially engaging on the social significance of the night, the moral meanings projected into the dark FINANCIAL TIMES
There are so many good stories here which do not usually find themselves between the same covers LITERARY REVIEW
This enlightening book ... is one of the most fascinating and rewarding literary experiences you are likely to discover this year HERTS & ESSEX OBSERVER
Absorbing ... fascinating ... tells us about everything from witches to firefighting, architecture to domestic violence ... a monumental study THE NATION
Just the sort of browsable treat guaranteed to cause insomnia. THE SCOTSMAN (29/4/06)
Wonderful... Ekirch spares no pains to rediscover the lost world of the dark. ... A book that can't be summarised but must be experienced. -- David Wootton LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS (9/3/06)
Night-time has been curiously ignored by social historians. This fine book corrects that lack. ... Entertaining and informative, this book is also challenging. THE TIMES (25/3/06)
Ekirch's absorbing history reveals an alternative universe shaped by real and imaginary perils. SUNDAY TIMES (23/4/06)
This enlightening book ... is one of the most fascinating and rewarding literary experiences you are likely to discover this year. HERTS & ESSEX OBSERVER (11/5/06)

Professor A. Roger Ekirch was born in 1950 in America. He teaches at Virginia Tech. On the basis of his research into the nighttime, Ekirch was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.

A fascinating and colourful social history of the nighttime. 'A wonderful revelation of a vanished age of darkness' SPECTATOR 'Fascinating' SUNDAY TIMES 'A splendid book ... great entertainment' Sir Patrick Moore 'A triumph of social history. Almost every page contains something to surprise the reader ... one of the most enjoyable literary experiences of the year' MAIL ON SUNDAYFrom blanket fairs to night kings, curfews to crime, At Day's Close is an intriguing and captivating investigation into the night. Until now, this rich and complex universe in which we spend nearly half of our lives was a world long-lost to historians. Here, Ekirch explores how the night was lived in the past, through travel accounts, memoirs, letters, folklore, poems, court records and coroner's reports. More than this, it is a passionate argument in the case for less artificial light in an increasingly bright world.

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