The Story of Black is an exploration of our ambiguous relationship with this most accursed of colours throughout cultures worldwide. The ancient Egyptians used black as their colour of death, and black became the standard garb for millennia of priests of myriad churches and cults. The innate austerity and gravity of black has made it a perennial choice for the robes of merchants, lawyers and even monarchs. Conversely, black gained popularity with the dandies of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and in the street fashions and subcultures of today. What is the secret of the continuing power of black to fascinate, compel and divide? How can a single colour embody such disparate
values as evil, death, chic and glamour? The Story of Black skilfully unpicks the social,
political, aesthetic and sexual nuances of black throughout the ages.
