All the Rage cover art

All the Rage

Power, Pain, Pleasure: Stories from the Frontline of Beauty 1860-1960

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All the Rage

By: Virginia Nicholson
Narrated by: Elaine Claxton
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£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

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'No one else makes history this fun' AMANDA FOREMAN

'All the Rage sits you at the dressing table of history: a place of dreams, doubts, self-harm and hopes' SARAH DITUM, SUNDAY TIMES

'Wonderfully engaging' HARPER'S BAZAAR

At the heart of this history is the female body.

The century-span between the crinoline and the bikini witnessed more mutations in the ideal western woman's body shape than at any other period.

In this richly detailed account, Virginia Nicholson, described as 'one of the great social historians of our time...' (Amanda Foreman) takes us to the Frontline of Beauty to reveal the power, the pain and the pleasure involved in adorning the female body.

The Power

Who determines which shape is currently 'all the rage'? Looking at how custom, colour, class and sex fit into the picture, this book also charts how the advances made by feminism collided with the changing shape of desirability.

The Pain

Here is Gladys, who had botched surgery on her nose; Dorothy, whose skin colour lost her an Oscar; Beccy who took slimming pills and died; and - unbelievably - the radioactive corset.

The Pleasure

Here are the 'New Women' who discovered freedom by bobbing their hair; the boyish, athletic 'Health and Beauty' ladies in black knickers; and starlets in bohemian beachwear. Among the first to experience true women's liberation were the early adopters of trousers.

Encompassing two world wars and a revolution in women's rights, All the Rage tells the story of western female beauty from 1860 to 1960, chronicling its codes, its contradictions, its lies, its highs - and its underlying power struggle.©2024 Virginia Nicholson Gender Studies Social Sciences Women War Rage
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Critic reviews

In All the Rage, the incomparable Virginia Nicholson, shaped and armed by her unconventional childhood among the Bloomsbury Set, is unafraid of skewering the social conventions that bound her generation. The tragedy of the myth of beauty, as Nicholson shows, is that it was never a myth. I love her writing
A scintillating survey of the changing face of beauty . . . bold in its scope, yet filled with intriguing details and thoughtful, original analysis.
Nicholson's lively, intimate history of beauty . . . All the Rage sits you at the dressing table of history: a place of dreams, doubts, self-harm and hopes. (Sarah Ditum)
This is a fascinating book: funny, unexpected, forgiving, political, personal, glamorous and yes, quietly, angry. (Louisa Young)
Wonderfully engaging
Virginia Nicholson's history of modern women's dedication to their appearance is full of ironies... She is particularly good on how a body looks when styled according to the fashions and expectations of an era... A compelling account of how . . . women are moulded by dominant ideals
An unforgettably rich and varied tapestry of the development of female beauty anxiety. (Ysenda Maxtone Graham)
All the Rage is a perfect title for a book about terrible beauty . . . Nicholson's research, and her talent for shaping her vast material into a compelling, thoughtful tale, are most impressive.
All stars
Most relevant
Interesting in places, some nice facts and stories of real women and fashion, there are a few good insights.
But the author is just trying SO hard to attribute absolutely everything to the evils of patriarchy and racism - as an example mentioning in a way "it was wrong" the fact that all characters in the Brothers Grimm's tales were white.
The narrator is good apart from when she's doing accents when anyone with a non-english name is quotes or mentioned, then it's facepalm over and over again.
Especially when there is a quotation (yes, the author really tries to sound scientific too, so a small fact could be followed by a 5 times longer list of authors of some Very Smart Sounding Article) and the narrator reads the NAMES with italian- or japanese- sounding accents.
Anyway - not sure it was worth my time and Audible credit, but it wasn't bad. Glad it's over though.

Very "woke" and pretentious

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This is the third book I have found very informative about women in the 19th and 20th centuries. This particular book looks at how women from different walks of life have been judged mainly on their physical appearance and how this has, in some cases, impacted on their lives. I personally think that now in 2026 with social media, women are even more discussed and either praised or criticised for their looks, so sadly, nothing has changed! I am 74 and still grit my teeth when I read all the comments about women!

Interesting.

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A very interesting insight, especially how it was only so relatively recently that females wearing trousers was acceptable. Having been born in the 50’s and always wearing jeans, it had never occurred to me !

The performance was wonderful. Calm , relaxing and brought the story to life.

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Brilliantly researched and utterly compelling read. A fascinating social history, and important work - highly recommended.

Fascinating history

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