A well-researched, timely and absorbing book, it challenges many of our prejudices about how our immediate ancestors thought, and invites us to enquire more closely into how and when and why families keep secrets and guard their privacy.

A 'book of marvels'. What marks out Family Secrets as an important book is not so much its breadth as its depth ... the result is a clear sighted investigation into what our forebears felt was private, and what they kept secret.

Scrupulous research with cool analysis and a humane intelligence

Fascinating reading

A fact-packed and fascinating history of secret-keeping

Dozens of illuminating stories culled from the divorce courts, adoption agencies and institutes for the mentally impaired. A find

An excellent and illuminating book. . . [It is] in the fastidious detail that her book comes alive

The history of secrets and their relation to the family turns out to be far more complex and vastly more interesting than might be imagined. Family Secrets is thought-provoking, well-written and remorselessly intelligent. . . an important book

A stylishly written, multilayered, broad-sweep book . . . essential reading for students on history, sociology and social policy courses . . . at a time when family "breakdown" is a matter of public concern, this book casts an illuminating light on a complex issue

A riveting study of secrecy and shame

A rich and rewarding study. Cohen is an accomplished scholar and reconstructs the lives she uncovers in the archives with empathy and imagination

A riveting book that is both a history of aspects of British culture that are swept under the carpet and a meditation on the relationship between secrecy and privacy

Everyone who reads this lucid book - a memorable sentence on every page - will understand their world more clearly

An impressive piece of history

Deborah Cohen opens up the role of the family . . . raising new questions and perspectives in this mysterious, important area of history

A thoughtful critique of privacy . . . blows apart our patronising attitude towards the Victorian family

Rigorous and relevant

Pries open the most astounding archives to uncover what our recent ancestors tried to hide

Remarkable, moving and surprising . . . drawing on divorce courts, hospital records and adoption agencies, Cohen debunks many myths

Groundbreaking reporting and character-rich storytelling... Passionately written...almost makes one nostalgic for a time when novels were so important that even the CIA cared about them

A sparkling and fascinating account

Well-paced narrative...of great relevance today, when such conflicts seem (but only seem) to have disappeared.

Immensely compelling

Meticulously researched

The true strength of this meticulously researched book is the placing of the revelations into the context of a compelling human drama

Engrossing

[An] outstanding treasure of literature

Impeccably researched, and moving, this book breaks new ground