Kiss

Katie Barclay is a historian of love and relationships, who has published widely in the field of the history of emotions, gender history, law and family life. She is the author of seven books, including Loneliness in World History (2025). She is Professor of History at Macquarie University, Sydney.

From saints and relics to #MeToo, this fascinating history traces the surprising cultural power of the humble snog. - Clement Knox, Daily TelegraphFrom foot-kissing knights to baby-kissing politicians, to the “shut-up kiss” of Hollywood romcoms, this rich and fascinating history reminds us that kissing is, and always has been, a contested public gesture as well as a private pleasure . . . Even the most apparently spontaneous of kisses can be shot through with power and politics. As Barclay’s timely book reminds us, it was ever thus. - Tiffany Watt Smith, The GuardianPucker up, because kisses are important. And they're often about far more than just passion. According to love historian Professor Katie Barclay, we kiss fewer people - and less often - than we used to. But kissing has been going on since time immemorial. And it’s immortalised in everything from religious iconography to art and the movies.” - The Sunday Post, ScotlandThe romantic kiss has a surprisingly radical past – from binding peace treaties to demonstrating fealty . . . [A] fascinating new book. - Ross Bilton, The AustralianWe know that the kiss is not universal, that it has acquired and lost different functions over time, but Katie Barclay has gone deep to produce a thrilling cultural archaeology of this most intimate human act. A wonderful book. Mwah! Mwah! - Matthew Sweet, broadcaster and authorWhether passionate, dutiful, spiritual or political, kissing has long been part of the human experience. In The Kiss, Katie Barclay illuminates the rich history and changing meanings of kissing over the past thousand years. This is a curious and endlessly surprising cultural history. - Michelle Arrow, former President of the Australian Historical AssociationThis is an impressive piece of work as well as an enjoyable read. In tracing a major form of human expression from the Middle Ages to the later 20th century, Katie Barclay combines this ambitious range with persuasive analysis. - Peter N. Stearns, author of Shame: A Brief HistoryFrom the medieval Annunciation to the #metoo movement, this insightful account tracks the history of the kiss as sacred and sensual, romantic and political, intimate gesture and public spectacle. Marshalling a huge range of material, including literature, art, letters, film and science, Barclay presents a compelling history of how the dynamics and transformative power of the kiss have changed. This lucid book exposes the deep roots of how we understand and experience the kiss today. - Karen Harvey, author of The Imposteress Rabbit Breeder: Mary Toft and Eighteenth-Century England