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The Closet: The Eighteenth-Century Architecture of Intimacy
A literary and cultural history of the intimate space of the eighteenth-century closet―and how it fired the imaginations of Pepys, Sterne, Swift, and so many other writers
Long before it was a hidden storage space or a metaphor for queer and trans shame, the closet was one of the most charged settings in English architecture. This private room provided seclusion for reading, writing, praying, dressing, and collecting―and for talking in select company. In their closets, kings and duchesses shared secrets with favorites, midwives and apothecaries dispensed remedies, and newly wealthy men and women expanded their social networks. In The Closet , Danielle Bobker presents a literary and cultural history of these sites of extrafamilial intimacy, revealing how, as they proliferated both in buildings and in books, closets also became powerful symbols of the unstable virtual intimacy of the first mass-medium of print.
Focused on the connections between status-conscious―and often awkward―interpersonal dynamics and an increasingly inclusive social and media landscape, The Closet examines dozens of historical and fictional encounters taking place in the various iterations of this courtly closets, bathing closets, prayer closets, privies, and the "moving closet" of the coach, among many others. In the process, the book conjures the intimate lives of well-known figures such as Samuel Pepys and Laurence Sterne, as well as less familiar ones such as Miss Hobart, a maid of honor at the Restoration court, and Lady Anne Acheson, Swift's patroness. Turning finally to queer theory, The Closet discovers uncanny echoes of the eighteenth-century language of the closet in twenty-first-century coming-out narratives.
Featuring more than thirty illustrations, The Closet offers a richly detailed and compelling account of an eighteenth-century setting and symbol of intimacy that continues to resonate today.
Long before it was a hidden storage space or a metaphor for queer and trans shame, the closet was one of the most charged settings in English architecture. This private room provided seclusion for reading, writing, praying, dressing, and collecting―and for talking in select company. In their closets, kings and duchesses shared secrets with favorites, midwives and apothecaries dispensed remedies, and newly wealthy men and women expanded their social networks. In The Closet , Danielle Bobker presents a literary and cultural history of these sites of extrafamilial intimacy, revealing how, as they proliferated both in buildings and in books, closets also became powerful symbols of the unstable virtual intimacy of the first mass-medium of print.
Focused on the connections between status-conscious―and often awkward―interpersonal dynamics and an increasingly inclusive social and media landscape, The Closet examines dozens of historical and fictional encounters taking place in the various iterations of this courtly closets, bathing closets, prayer closets, privies, and the "moving closet" of the coach, among many others. In the process, the book conjures the intimate lives of well-known figures such as Samuel Pepys and Laurence Sterne, as well as less familiar ones such as Miss Hobart, a maid of honor at the Restoration court, and Lady Anne Acheson, Swift's patroness. Turning finally to queer theory, The Closet discovers uncanny echoes of the eighteenth-century language of the closet in twenty-first-century coming-out narratives.
Featuring more than thirty illustrations, The Closet offers a richly detailed and compelling account of an eighteenth-century setting and symbol of intimacy that continues to resonate today.
- GenresNonfictionArt
288 pages, Hardcover
Published May 19, 2020
46 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 21, 2023
I’ve always found the role of architecture in historical activities fascinating. Having read many nonfiction and fictional descriptions of bygone eras, I’ve long been interested in the distinct importance of the setup of personal rooms. There’s a sense of both intimacy and exclusion to them, often clearly delineating how important someone is to the resident.
The Closet touches on quite a few points that illustrate how closets - and dressing rooms and privies alike - were so significant to the people who resided in them, those they invited inside, and those who could only dream of entering. They could inspire an air of mystery or provide a sense of privacy.
I liked the interweaving of researched facts and supporting anecdotes. It made for an easy yet engaging read.
The coda at the end was the weakest part. While it was neat to learn about how the idea of the “closet” has become so integral to the LGBTQ+ community, the section felt tacked on in a way that didn’t really flow with the rest of the book. I suppose that was why it was only a coda, but I would have suggested making it into a proper chapter with greater integration to the entire work or cutting it to only a couple paragraphs.
Perhaps the largest surprise for me was the section about coaches (as in carriages). I hadn’t considered the concept of the closet outside of a house, and it made for a great dichotomy. I appreciated that Bobker made the connection between the physical closet and the shielding they could provide from public observation - whether literally or just as a reassuring mentality.
There was a lot to observe in such a short book, covering the role of private chambers to friendships, romances, scandals, femininity, prayer, and more. I enjoyed Bobker’s thorough analysis and how it was presented in such a readable fashion, accompanied by useful diagrams for reference.
I would read other works of research by the author and recommend this to anyone interested by the role of private spaces to relationships and personal exploration throughout history.
The Closet touches on quite a few points that illustrate how closets - and dressing rooms and privies alike - were so significant to the people who resided in them, those they invited inside, and those who could only dream of entering. They could inspire an air of mystery or provide a sense of privacy.
I liked the interweaving of researched facts and supporting anecdotes. It made for an easy yet engaging read.
The coda at the end was the weakest part. While it was neat to learn about how the idea of the “closet” has become so integral to the LGBTQ+ community, the section felt tacked on in a way that didn’t really flow with the rest of the book. I suppose that was why it was only a coda, but I would have suggested making it into a proper chapter with greater integration to the entire work or cutting it to only a couple paragraphs.
Perhaps the largest surprise for me was the section about coaches (as in carriages). I hadn’t considered the concept of the closet outside of a house, and it made for a great dichotomy. I appreciated that Bobker made the connection between the physical closet and the shielding they could provide from public observation - whether literally or just as a reassuring mentality.
There was a lot to observe in such a short book, covering the role of private chambers to friendships, romances, scandals, femininity, prayer, and more. I enjoyed Bobker’s thorough analysis and how it was presented in such a readable fashion, accompanied by useful diagrams for reference.
I would read other works of research by the author and recommend this to anyone interested by the role of private spaces to relationships and personal exploration throughout history.
April 25, 2025
I first picked up this book because I was looking for resources on 18th-century lesbians, and one of my professors recommended it to me. This book... was absolutely no help in that regard.
The Closet is a series of essays that look at the 18th century architecture of closets and cabinets (rooms where people kept their shiny collectibles like books or whatever and sometimes held private meetings with one another; more like what we might consider an office than what we think of as a closet; also, apparently, a term that they used to use for anthologies and whatnot), the history around them, and literary instances of intimacy that used closets (and carriages, which were a kind of portable closet). It ended up grabbing my attention so I read the whole book despite it not applying to the research I wanted, though I ended up needing to finish it after the school semester was over (also, it was an inter-library loan and I felt bad having it shipped all the way to my library without reading it).
There is one chapter (coda) at the end that deals with a queer coming out in the 21st century, but for most of the 'intimacy' throughout this series is of the heterosexual kind, so definitely not a book you want to look at if you're looking for resources on queer history. I still found it super interesting regardless.
The Closet is a series of essays that look at the 18th century architecture of closets and cabinets (rooms where people kept their shiny collectibles like books or whatever and sometimes held private meetings with one another; more like what we might consider an office than what we think of as a closet; also, apparently, a term that they used to use for anthologies and whatnot), the history around them, and literary instances of intimacy that used closets (and carriages, which were a kind of portable closet). It ended up grabbing my attention so I read the whole book despite it not applying to the research I wanted, though I ended up needing to finish it after the school semester was over (also, it was an inter-library loan and I felt bad having it shipped all the way to my library without reading it).
There is one chapter (coda) at the end that deals with a queer coming out in the 21st century, but for most of the 'intimacy' throughout this series is of the heterosexual kind, so definitely not a book you want to look at if you're looking for resources on queer history. I still found it super interesting regardless.
July 20, 2023
3.5 stars
Some interesting ideas about both privacy and closets. I'd also call this book itself a closet, that is, per 18th century terminology, an anthology of essays about related things. While the brief interludes between chapters regarding Samuel Pepys are both helpful and illustrative, they don't completely paper over the somewhat disperse ground these chapters cover. I personally can't believe that the chapter on pooping (ie the water closet) was the most dull of the 5 chapters. And while I can see the appeal of ending the book with a chapter on the 20th-21st century queer idea of coming out of the closet, the author doesn't quite stick the landing. The proceeding chapters don't quite add enough context/information to the discussion in the last chapter to justify the creation of this collection.
Some interesting ideas about both privacy and closets. I'd also call this book itself a closet, that is, per 18th century terminology, an anthology of essays about related things. While the brief interludes between chapters regarding Samuel Pepys are both helpful and illustrative, they don't completely paper over the somewhat disperse ground these chapters cover. I personally can't believe that the chapter on pooping (ie the water closet) was the most dull of the 5 chapters. And while I can see the appeal of ending the book with a chapter on the 20th-21st century queer idea of coming out of the closet, the author doesn't quite stick the landing. The proceeding chapters don't quite add enough context/information to the discussion in the last chapter to justify the creation of this collection.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews