Garim Kim Kim itibaren Zona Industriale Sud TV, Italy
The premise is a tour of Bryson's home, a former rectory, to impose structure on a history of private life: hygiene, cooking, sex, death, childhood, etc. Ironically, Bryson knows next to nothing about the house he occupies. But he has obviously read widely to inform his broader treatment, and pulls together anything that seems humorous or interesting. So, there are many tidbits to be enjoyed. But it's not really a history. There's no focus on time (we span many centuries, even if Victorian times predominate) or place (we hop from Norfolk to London to Paris and spend many a page Stateside). And, for a social history, it doesn't have much to say about the lives of ordinary folk: after all, the lives of the rich leave a greater legacy in buildings, possessions and documentation, and they also furnish many a funny story of excess.