The Book of Phobias and Manias: A History of the World in 99 Obsessions

A Times Best Non-fiction Book for Autumn 2022
A captivating A-Z from the award-winning author of The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher

'Fascinating... Exquisitely detailed and consistently insightful' Publishers Weekly
Do you recoil in arachnophobic horror at the sight of a spider - or twitch with nomophobia when you misplace your mobile phone? Do your book-buying habits verge on bibliomania? Perhaps you find yourself mired in indecision and uncertainty? (Would it be reassuring to give this a name: aboulomania?)
Our phobias and manias are contradictory and multiple: deeply intimate, yet forged by the times we live in - the commonest form of anxiety disorder, but rarely given a formal diagnosis. Plunge into this rich, surprising and fascinating A-Z compendium to discover how our fixations have taken shape, from pre-history to the present day, as bestselling author Kate Summerscale deftly traces the threads...