{"product_id":"soft-a-brief-history-of-sentimentality-9781399421881","title":"Soft: A Brief History of Sentimentality","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'[An] erudite, immensely entertaining book...Mount makes for a delightful guide' -- Literary Review\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom troubadours to Twitter: a thousand years of feelings, fads and furious sentiment, from renowned essayist Ferdinand Mount.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhatever we think we feel, you can be sure that the past has had a part to play in it. In Soft, Ferdinand Mount tells the millennium-long history of emotion through delightful snapshots, often mischievous storytelling and a masterly command of history. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMount explores the shifting importance societies have placed on empathy for the misfortunes of others. Each seismic moment, Mount argues, from the French Revolution to Civil Rights, has had a corresponding sentimental revolution that has fuelled great political turning points and come to define human civilization. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut no one wants to be accused of being sentimental; its detractors call it soppy, effeminate and populist - the stuff of soap operas and pop songs. The Reformation tried to stamp out excessive emotion, the Victorians resolutely maintained their stiff upper lips and no one loathed sentimentality more than the modernists - and yet, today, Mount argues it is not the stoics who are ruling the roost: we are living in an age of emotion. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the Occitan poets of the 12th century to Paul McCartney' songs, and modern debates around woke, this is a witty insight into the story of emotions and the way they have swayed human history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ferdinand Mount\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bloomsbury Continuum\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/18\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.23w x 1.19d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781399421881\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/15\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/0001\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFerdinand Mount \u003c\/b\u003ewas Political Editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Spectator \u003c\/i\u003eand Editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Times Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e. For two years he was head of Margaret Thatcher's think-tank - The Number 10 Policy Unit. He is an authority on politics today, and writes regularly for The \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eLondon Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHis most recent titles include \u003ci\u003eKiss Myself Goodbye: The Many Lives of Aunt Munca \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eBig Caesars and Little Caesars: How They Rise and How They Fall, from Julius Caesar to Boris Johnson\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Ferdinand Mount \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":47674862174365,"sku":"9781399421881","price":47.37,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_6bfbed87-0c5a-494c-988d-b14f1df5aade.jpg?v=1771914831","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/soft-a-brief-history-of-sentimentality-9781399421881","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}