The Age of Comfort: When Paris Discovered Casual—and the Modern Home Began

by Joan DeJean

A critically acclaimed historian of France and French culture identifies the moment in modern history when informality and comfort first became priorities, causing a sudden transformation in the worlds of architecture and interior decoration that would last for centuries. Today it is difficult to imagine a living room without a sofa. When the first sofas on record were delivered in seventeenth-century France, the result was a radical reinvention of interior space. Symptomatic of a new age of casualness and comfort, the sofa ushered in an era known as the golden age of conversation; as the first piece of furniture designed for two, it was also considered an invitation to seduction. At the same moment came many other changes in interior space we now take for private bedrooms, bathrooms, and the original living rooms. None of this could have happened without a colorful cast of visionaries—legendary architects, the first interior designers, and the women who shaped the tastes of two successive kings of Louis XIV’s mistress the Marquise de Maintenon and Louis XV’s mistress the Marquise de Pompadour. Their revolutionary ideas would have a direct influence on realms outside the home, from clothing to literature and gender relations, changing the way people lived and related to one another for the foreseeable future.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, France, Art, Design, Architecture, 18th Century

295 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Joan DeJean has been Trustee Professor at the University of Pennsylvania since 1988. She previously taught at Yale and at Princeton. She is the author of eleven books on French literature, history, and material culture of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including most recently How Paris Became Paris: The Invention of the Modern City (2014); The Age of Comfort: When Paris Discovered Casual--and the Modern Home Began (2009); The Essence of Style: How the French Invented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafés, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour (2005). She lives in Philadelphia and, when in Paris, around the corner from the house where, in 1612, this story began.

Reviews

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise of this book is that during a single century (1670-1765) in France, many of the things we consider basic to life were invented or came into use: cotton clothing, clothing designs with the emphasis placed on comfort as opposed to imposing court dress, sofas, armchairs, bedrooms and bathrooms as separate rooms instead of one corner of a grand hall, flush toilets and running water, large paned windows to let in light, nightstands and writing desks, hardwood floors, and more. Part of this was a reaction to the grand magnificence of Versailles – after a day in a boned bodice that wouldn't let you sit down, surrounded by strict rules of etiquette, who wouldn't want to relax in cozy privacy? Another part was simply a consequence of the historic moment: increased trade with India, a newly rich merchant class eager to commission their own architect-designed houses, increased technology in various crafts, Enlightenment philosophers coming up with new ideas for improving "the art of living". It's a fascinating argument, to show how all these disparate things are linked, and DeJean makes her case very well, though I don't know enough about it to say if she missed anything obvious.

DeJean has a entertaining, breezy style that makes the book more fun to read than you might suspect. For example:
From the start (and the stories about [the Marquise de Pompadour] started right away), her biographers agreed that she set her cap for the king, having been encouraged to believe since childhood that she was somehow destined to become his mistress. (Her will contains a curious, and curiously touching, bequest of six hundred livres to "Madame Lebon for having foretold when she was nine years old that she would one day become the king's mistress").
Describing newly curved seating:
And for "those who write" and therefore "spend long periods" leaning forward, [Roubo, a furniture designer] shows how the seat's curves could be adapted to this particular distribution of body weight and thereby help writers "resist fatigue". (I only wish someone would think like this today.)
Describing an early toilet:
Since it was not hooked up to waste piping, it's hard to imagine how well it performed its function. (In the fixtures he created for Pompadour, Migeon did at least use a wood then new to France, mahogany, because of its odor-resistant properties.)

It's a surprisingly quick, easy read, with lots of illustrations and a really intriguing central premise. I recommend it if you have the least interest in the origins of mundane things.

[Beth Cato · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the kind of nonfiction book that is a slow read, but an absolutely fascinating one if you geek out over historical details. This book describes the invention of the toilet, the sofa, the concept of the private bedroom, how France warred against cotton, along with many other intriguing historical minutia. This is a book I'll keep around for reference.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very informative book. I learned much about how interior design today was influenced by late 1600s and 1700s French architecture and interior design. However, the author tends to sometimes switch between time periods and it is not always clear what they are talking about. Overall, I did enjoy it.

[MissJessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book on a Giveaway and was delighted.

This book, about a subject of particular interest to me (history of decoration, lifestyles in the past, fashion of the past, etc.) amply fulfilled my expectations.

It was fascinating to learn the history of the development of bedrooms, flush toilets, and the use of cotton in clothing, to name but a few things.

This book would serve, perhaps, as more of a reference type book than just a read-it-all-at-once book; the style of writing is very understandable and detailed, but not the kind of thing that one would sit down and read straight through without having time to think about the subject. At least for me.

I knew absolutely nothing about the life in France during the time period of this book and so found it quite educational in a general way as well. Particularly interesting to me was the description of how clothing went from being miserably uncomfortable to much more relaxed and tolerable to wear; and how furniture became designed to actually be comfortable instead of merely formal.

All in all, a pleasant read and I recommend the book to anyone interested in the subjects it covers.

[Linda Harkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an informative book by University of Pennsylvania Trustee Professor Joan DeJean that caused me to look at the sofa in an entirely new way. It was not until the turn of the 18th century that the societal desire for comfort and privacy surfaced. People wanted spaces that were less formal and in which they could feel fully at ease. Architecture, clothing, and furniture became more casual. New words describing interior design became part of the lexicon: sopha or sofa from the Arab word for cushion, for example. Demeanor, body language, and deportment changed as a result of new furniture that encouraged naturalness. Did new architecture, decorative arts, and interior design really promote a new private, interior life? That's the premise of this informative book.

[Andreea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pure joy for my inner fashionista as it is a plunge into the days of Pompadour with everything that changed (furniture, clothes, lifestyle)

[Lea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, I like history and reading about 17th and 18th century French aristocrats probably more than the average person, but this was VERY specific history, even for me.

I LOVE Joan DeJean's writing style, and I loved her other book "The Essence of Style", BUT I think in this case the subject of the book was not particularly interesting to me AND the book itself was a tad overlong and repetitive. However, I did learn a lot and there are some very amusing anecdotes and historical tidbits in the book.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept was very interesting and I've tell its story a few times. But it didn't hit the mark for me. If seemed to say the same thing again and again. At the same time I'm not a history buff so sometimes I could have used more context. That said, I hate being a downer and I know people who loved the book. It will definitely give you some good stories to tell in social gatherings.

[Christopher J Schauffele · Rating 1 out of 5]

The topic is interesting and kept me in the interested zone for a while. But then turned very factual and read like a text book. A bit more narration on the topic vs straight fact telling would improve readability. If you are looking for a book on this topic to further research or cite it will be for you.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really entertaining but I could not shake how uncomfortable it made me to read about the cotton industry with no mention of slavery. On the other hand, I could read Madame Pompadour ALL DAY LONG.

This book really made me conscious of how much the way I move, sit and stand are a reflection of the clothes I wear and the shape of the chairs I am in for much of the day.

[Adelais · Rating 4 out of 5]

Про те, як на стільцях сидіти стало не тільки потрібно, а й зручно: як фрацузька аристократія крові і грошей відкрили для себе затишок, всі ці пуфики, рюшки і негліже, гм, теж, і все це пересипане розкошами, звісно. І мадам де Помпадур усюди відзначилася.

[Bruce Erikson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting narrative on the development and evolution of furniture including the toilet, commode and sofa. DeJean references lots of famous French and what they had. Loved it.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

*Spoiler Alert*
I enjoyed this book. I was thinking it would be more of a reference type book but it actually reads like a History book. If you like History and have an interest in Architecture and the History of what goes into one's personal space and how it came about you'll like this one. Parts of it make you thankful you live now rather then in the 1700's but its quite interesting how the things we take for granted came into being. It seems all it takes is at least one person to decide something is not comfortable or certain habits are rather yucky and convince someone else there must be a better way. The next thing you know you not only have comfy sofas with puffy pillows but toilets that flush and are behind a closed door in a room of their own.

Its also interesting to learn yet again how society seems to go up and down. For example the Egyptians were quite advanced for their time but when they collapsed their culture went with them. It seems the same thing happened to the French they were quite advanced for their time but after the Revolution things reverted back to somewhat primitive standards for the day.

A few of the more interesting things I learned in addition to what I've already mentioned was that Louis XV was actually the Great Grandson of Louis XIV. Even though I've studied the furniture that was around during their reigns and who they were I somehow missed the fact that they were not Father and Son. The English are usually thought to be rather civilized and ahead of their time but it seems that they were actually behind the French. Some of the French innovations apparently were actually not embraced by the English simply because they were French. At some point the English began to develop some of the same innovations and some of them have gotten credit for things that the French already had technology for (I think it was Post-Revolution, I must admit I'm not good with numbers and so dates easily confuse me).

Definitely an interesting read if its within your area of interest.

[Marlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts large and works its way down. It details how comfort spread from architecture all the way down to furniture, fixtures and what people wore, but also gives an accurate picture of the personalities who made it more than a trend. The little details about the people, some Royal and some not, really made it for me. The final few chapters from 'The Bedroom' to 'The Fabric of Their Lives' are the most enjoyable as they are the most personal. My favorite picture was of the Marquise de Pompadour in her layers and layers of fabric, seated so comfortably on a new padded chair. I had to keep referring back to this picture, for every chapter or so the author would bring out a detail that I never noticed and made the overall portrait so much clearer. It's like that with so many everyday items that you will find yourself looking at chairs, fabric and historic paintings in a different way. A great book.

[Jamie Crouthamel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun read! DeJean walks the reader through the grand, imposing spaces of the Age of Magnificence and explains how the changing cultural, political and economic landscapes morph these spaces into plush, warm and comfortable places where homeowners are given the new freedom of privacy. Learning about how the idea of privacy and private spaces developed was absolutely fascinating! The only fault I could possibly find is there were a few moments that were a bit tedious in their minutiae, however, for the kind of readers that this read would attract, I don't think it would be much of a problem.

[Scottie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book I won. This was very interesting and was well written. It told of the invention of some of our modern conveniences, such as indoor plumbing and some of our more comfortable furniture, & how and why these things were conceived. I certainly learned from it. I had not known that a lot of what we enjoy today came from Paris, or what period of time these things were first designed. Anyone interested in history would find this book a good read. Anyone with an interest in Paris or French history would especially like it.

[Sherwood Smith]

This book fits nicely into period histories of architecture, clothing, and social history, for example the salon. Anyone who wants to find out how the hostesses fitted up their salons, and how having comfortable rather than stately rooms changed how rooms were used, will enjoy this detailed ramble, but be wary of some of her claims; there are some distressing errors, especially about life in the 1400s and 1500s.

[David Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free from the Goodreads first read giveaway. I thought this book was good even though I have no interest in decorating or furniture. The author did some painstaking research. If you want to know about the eveloution of decorating, fashion and lifestyle changes in Europe of the 1700's, this is the book for you!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've ever enjoyed an episode of Antiques Roadshow, this is at least an interesting skim. I passed my copy on to my mother, who went through an intense French antiques period and who is going to appreciate this book much more than I. :)

[Ruthmarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

How does she do it over and over again? Fun read that is just chock full of facts that support a brilliant analysis of the interconnection between philosophy, style, art, fashion, politics, mores. Loved it. Now . . . moving backwards to the Essence of Style.

[raccoon reader]

I'm very excited! I just won this book and am greatly looking forward to reading it :)

[Athena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please read my blog for a review: http://notmytypee.blogspot.com/2011/1...

I won my copy through First Reads.

[Elizabeth]

I've read her book on the influence of Louis XIV on the fashion industry and I'm sure this one will be equally pleasurable!

[Marilyn Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very interesting to me as a former fashion and textiles student and now as a Rienzi docent. Great reference book.

[Katharine Holden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, unusual, fun to read. Frustratingly few illustrations, so it's often hard to "see" what the author is talking about.

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful, and entertaining, reference if European Decorative Arts is your thing. I bought the book after reading it so that I could continue to mine it for all its historical context.