Shaping the Day：A History of Timekeeping in England and Wales 1300-1800

Timekeepingisanessentialactivityinthemodernworldandwetakeitforgrantedthatourlivesourshapedbythehoursoftheday.Yetwhatseemssoordinarytodayisactuallytheextraordinaryoutcomeofcenturiesoftechnicalinnovationandcirculationofideasabouttime.ShapingtheDayisapathbreakingstudyofthepracticeoftimekeepinginEnglandandWalesbetween1300and1800.Drawingonmanyuniquehistoricalsources,rangingfrompersonaldiariestohousekeepingmanuals,PaulGlennieandNigelThriftillustratehowaparticularkindofcommonsenseabouttimecameintobeing,andhowitdevelopedduringthisperiod.Manyremarkablefiguresmaketheirappearance,rangingfromthewell-known,suchasEdmundHalley,SamuelPepys,andJohnHarrison,whosolvedtheproblemoflongitude,tolessfamiliarcharacters,includingsailors,gamblers,andburglars.Overturningmanycommonperceptionsofthepast-forexample,thatclocktimeandtheindustrialrevolutionwereintimatelyrelated-thisuniquehistoricalstudyengagesallreadersinterestedinhow'tellingthetime'hascometodominateourwayoflife.