Time, Desire and Horror:
Towards a History of the Senses
by Alain Corbin

First published in French in 1991 as 'Le Temps, Le Désir et l'Horreur'

In this study Alain Corbin argues that the 1860s were a crucial period for Western civilisation, characterised by radical changes in the way Europeans viewed themselves and their world. Focusing on France, Corbin shows how order was imposed on the urban space of its capital city, with the creation of great boulevards, airy apartment buildings, parks, lights and sewers. The whole of the country, he claims, was deeply affected by the new mobility of its population, and by the more rapid circulation of commodities and information. He argues that, with the increase in the speed of travel and communication, marked changes took place in Europeans' conception of time, and in particular their desire for free time, time to oneself.