At Day’s Close: A History of Nighttime

A fascinating and colourful social history of the nighttime.

‘A wonderful revelation of a vanished age of darkness’ SPECTATOR

‘Fascinating’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘A splendid book … great entertainment’ Sir Patrick Moore

‘A triumph of social history. Almost every page contains something to surprise the reader … one of the most enjoyable literary experiences of the year’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

From blanket fairs to night kings, curfews to crime, At Day’s Close is an intriguing and captivating investigation into the night. Until now, this rich and complex universe in which we spend nearly half of our lives was a world long-lost to historians.

Here, Ekirch explores how the night was lived in the past, through travel accounts, memoirs, letters, folklore, poems, court records and coroner’s reports. More than this, it is a passionate argument in the case for less artificial light in an increasingly bright world.