Evening's Empire

This fascinating study explores the myriad ways in which early modern people understood, experienced and transformed the night.

Craig Koslofsky is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His previous publications include The Reformation of the Dead: Death and Ritual in Early Modern Germany (2001).

1. An early modern revolution; 2. Darkness and the devil, 1450-1650; 3. Seeking the Lord in the night, 1530-1650; 4. Princes of darkness: the night at court, 1600-1750; 5. 'An entirely new contrivance': the rise of street lighting, 1660-1700; 6. Colonising the urban night: resistance, gender and the public sphere; 7. Colonising the rural night?; 8. Darkness and enlightenment; 9. Conclusion.