- Summary
- Here is an absorbing and startlingly original illustrated study of one of the great - and most neglected - themes in all history: the ways in which society has perceived old people throughout the ages. From increased life expectancy and `grey gap years' to dwindling pensions, the pros and cons of aging is a constant theme, yet much of the debate continues to be based on assumptions and misconceptions about the past. Is it true, for instance, that people were considered `old' at fifty? How far have our ideas about the average life-span in previous centuries been distorted by infant mortality? Were the old respected and cared for? Did sexuality survive into old age? Here, for the first time, a group of leading historians address these and allied questions, writing vividly about a topic of great contemporary resonance that has for too long been surrounded by taboo. The visual evidence is a vital part of the story, and here the book is equally original. Drawing upon the rich legacy of art through two millennia, with works by a wide range of artists including Whistler, Rembrandt, Rego and Freud, this enthralling human story presents a picture that is sometimes compassionate, sometimes horrifying, but overall unexpectedly reassuring.
- Format
- Book
- Published
- London : Thames & Hudson, 2005
- Contents
-
1. 'My age is as a lusty winter' : the age of old age / Pat Thane
2. 'Old age has always been revered' : the ancient Greek and Roman worlds / Tim Parkin
3. 'All want to reach old age but nobody wants to be old' : the Middle Ages and Renaissance / Shulamith Shahar
4. 'An idle youth makes a needy old age' : the 17th century / Lynn A. Botelho
5. 'Long live the republic where old men preside' : the 18th century / David G. Troyansky
6. 'Don't complain about old age' : the 19th century / Thomas R. Cole and Claudia Edwards
7. 'I do not think of myself as old' : the 20th century / Pat Thane.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Thane, Pat.
- Notes
-
Includes bibliographical references (pages 315-317) and index.
1. 'My age is as a lusty winter' : the age of old age / Pat Thane -- 2. 'Old age has always been revered' : the ancient Greek and Roman worlds / Tim Parkin -- 3. 'All want to reach old age but nobody wants to be old' : the Middle Ages and Renaissance / Shulamith Shahar -- 4. 'An idle youth makes a needy old age' : the 17th century / Lynn A. Botelho -- 5. 'Long live the republic where old men preside' : the 18th century / David G. Troyansky -- 6. 'Don't complain about old age' : the 19th century / Thomas R. Cole and Claudia Edwards -- 7. 'I do not think of myself as old' : the 20th century / Pat Thane.
