A Cultural History of Leisure presents historians, and scholars and students of related fields, with the first comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of the cultural history of leisure from ancient times to modernity. With six highly illustrated volumes covering 2500 years, this is the definitive reference work on the subject, comprising:

Volume 1: A Cultural History of Leisure in Antiquity (500BC-500AD)
Volume 2: A Cultural History of Leisure in the Medieval Age (500-1450)
Volume 3: A Cultural History of Leisure in the Renaissance (1450-1650)
Volume 4: A Cultural History of Leisure in the Age of Enlightenment (1650-1800)
Volume 5: A Cultural History of Leisure in the Age of Empire (1800-1920)
Volume 6: A Cultural History of Leisure in the Modern Age (1920-2000+)

Each volume adopts the same thematic structure, covering: the idea of leisure; the performing arts and their audiences; the cerebral arts and their publics; sports and games; holydays, holidays and tourism; the world of conviviality; the world of goods; the world of nature and representations of leisure, enabling readers to trace one theme throughout history, as well as gaining a thorough overview of each individual period.