{"title":"Robert Muchembled","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRobert Muchembled\u003c\/strong\u003e delves into history with a focus on the cultural and social undercurrents that have shaped Western civilisation. His works explore themes ranging from the history of the devil to the intricacies of human sexuality and sensory experiences, offering readers a nuanced understanding of the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThrough meticulous research and engaging narratives, Muchembled invites readers to reconsider historical perspectives, blending education with compelling storytelling. His books are essential for those interested in the intersections of history, culture, and human behaviour.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"orgasm-and-the-west-by-robert-muchembled-9780745638768","title":"Orgasm and the West","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCan the orgasm be explained in historical terms? An almost incommunicable individual emotion yet also a cultural reality, the orgasm is part of, but also escapes, collective experience. The history of the orgasm is that of the hidden body, of forbidden desires, of flesh constrained by taboos and morality. Buried deep in archives and libraries, the documents that shed light on this physical, sometimes libertine, life are nevertheless surprisingly plentiful and have a surprisingly evocative charge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eOrgasm and the West\u003c\/em\u003e by Robert Muchembled unearths fascinating sources which suggest that we need to look with a fresh eye at the past and realise that the sublimation of the erotic impulse was far more than simple religious asceticism: it was the hidden driving force of the West until the 1960s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the sphere of sexual pleasure, England and France have followed parallel paths. The United States remains deeply influenced by this common repressive model, which hedonist Europe has recently abandoned in favour of a malleable sexuality of which women are the chief beneficiaries. Liberated by the pill from the dangers and anxieties associated with the obligations of reproduction, they can now claim equality with men and uninhibitedly claim pleasure and the orgasm for themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000696062188,"sku":"9780745638768","price":44.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/12744813482453.jpg?v=1763298253"},{"product_id":"smells-by-robert-muchembled-9781509536788","title":"Smells","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy is our sense of smell so under-appreciated? We tend to think of smell as a vestigial remnant of our pre-human past, doomed to gradual extinction, and we go to great lengths to eliminate smells from our environment, suppressing body odour, bad breath, and other smells. Living in a relatively odour-free environment has numbed us to the importance that smells have always had in human history and culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this major new book, \u003cem\u003eSmells\u003c\/em\u003e, Robert Muchembled restores smell to its rightful place as one of our most important senses and examines the transformation of smells in the West from the Renaissance to the beginning of the 19th century. He shows that in earlier centuries, the air in towns and cities was often saturated with nauseating emissions and dangerous pollution. Having little choice but to see and smell faeces and urine on a daily basis, people showed little revulsion; until the 1620s, literature and poetry delighted in excreta, which now disgusts us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe smell of excrement and body odours were formative aspects of eroticism and sexuality, for the social elite and the popular classes alike. At the same time, medicine explained outbreaks of plague by Satan's poisonous breath corrupting the air. Amber, musk, and civet came to be seen as vital bulwarks against the devil's breath: scents were worn like armour against the plague.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe disappearance of the plague after 1720 and the sharp decline in fear of the devil meant there was no longer any point in using perfumes to fight the forces of evil, paving the way for the olfactory revolution of the 18th century when softer, sweeter perfumes, often with floral and fruity scents, came into fashion, reflecting new norms of femininity and a gentler vision of nature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis rich cultural history of an under-appreciated sense will appeal to a wide readership.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000743641324,"sku":"9781509536788","price":42.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/12390133482725.jpg?v=1763301760"},{"product_id":"a-history-of-the-devil-by-robert-muchembled-9780745628165","title":"A History of the Devil","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis highly original and engaging book by French historian Robert Muchembled is a journey through time and space in search of the changing perception and significance of the devil in Western culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe author takes the story back to the 13th century, when visual images of Satan first started to appear, and forward to the 20th century, dealing with, among others, the place of the diabolical in the films of Stanley Kubrick, including \u003cem\u003eEyes Wide Shut\u003c\/em\u003e. The changing figures of Evil over time are shown to correlate with the way in which men conceive of their destinies and the future of their civilisation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFascination with the diabolical reached its height in the witch-hunts of the 15th and 16th centuries. By the Enlightenment, this fascination began to show signs of decline, a process which has continued up to today. The result of this process, for modern Western society, is a subtle metamorphosis of the notion of the devil from the fear of Satan into an internal demon, \"the demon within,\" characterised by a distrust of oneself and one's desires.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt is this conception of the diabolical that is visible today in our interest in the supernatural, exorcism, and, for example, in the role of the \"devilish good\" in advertising. A rich, vivid history of a topic that never ceases to intrigue.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47595597398252,"sku":"9780745628165","price":59.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780745628165-a-history-of-the-devil.jpg?v=1777899117"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/robert-muchembled.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}