At Home: A Short History of Private Life cover art

At Home: A Short History of Private Life

 Preview
Free with 30-day trial
Prime logo New to Audible Prime Member exclusive:
2 credits with free trial
1 credit a month to use on any title to download and keep
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks
Download titles to your library and listen offline
₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.

At Home: A Short History of Private Life

Written by: Bill Bryson
Narrated by: Bill Bryson
Free with 30-day trial

₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for ₹801.00

Buy Now for ₹801.00

About this listen

Here is Bill Bryson’s entertaining and illuminating book about the history of the way we live - complete, unabridged and read by the author.

Bill Bryson was struck one day by the thought that we devote more time to studying the battles and wars of history than to considering what history really consists of: centuries of people quietly going about their daily business. This inspired him to start a journey around his own house, an old rectory in Norfolk, considering how the ordinary things in life came to be. Along the way, he researched the history of anything and everything, from architecture to electricity, from food preservation to epidemics, from the spice trade to the Eiffel Tower, from crinolines to toilets. And he discovered that there is a huge amount of history, interest and excitement - and even a little danger - lurking in the corners of every home.

Where A Short History of Nearly Everything was a sweeping panorama of the world, the universe and everything, At Home peers at private life through a microscope. Bryson applies the same irrepressible curiosity, irresistible wit, stylish prose, and masterful storytelling that made A Short History of Nearly Everything one of the most lauded books of the last decade.

©2010 Bill Bryson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Editorial Reviews

A tremendous look at the very dense but often overlooked history of ordinary, everyday life can be found in the brilliant audiobook At Home: A Short History of Private Life, written and narrated by award-winning and appraised author Bill Bryson. This book delivers the perfect combination of lighthearted entertainment and thoroughly researched facts. Bryson’s beautifully constructed prose brings even the most seemingly insignificant of household items to an entirely exciting front. Listeners will find themselves gazing far more closely and with much more appreciation at the small items that make up much of their daily life. Available now from Audible.
All stars
Most relevant
Please ignore the other low rating review here criticizing the narrators clarity. Bill Bryson does a good job of narrating the book, but you have to give his style of speaking some time to adjust to.

On the other hand, the book in itself is fantastic. Probably as good as The Body and A Short History of Nearly Everything. While those focus on the human body and general history, respectively, this one mainly focuses on life in 18th and 19th century Europe.

I didn't even know I wanted to know all this stuff before I listened to the book. Definitely recommend if you like his other work.

A fantastic listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love the author but he is not a clear reader - I couldn’t make out most words and he has a tendency to emphasise wrong vowels and swallow up most of the pronunciation. I had to abandon this audiobook.

Inarticulate and incomprehensible reading

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.