Kassia St Clair studied the history of women's dress and the masquerade during the eighteenth-century at Bristol and Oxford. She has since written about design and culture for the Economist, House & Garden, Quartz and 1843, and has had a column about colour in Elle Decoration since 2013. She lives in London. www.kassiastclair.com
A mind-expanding tour of the world without leaving your paintbox. Every colour has a story, and here are some of the most alluring, alarming, and thought-provoking. Very hard painting the hallway magnolia after this inspiring primer SIMON GARFIELD Charming FINANCIAL TIMES From pink boys' clothes to blue warpaint; why orange spells danger and other colourful tales DAILY TELEGRAPH Inspiring, compelling and beautifully designed ... this will appeal to anyone LADY Well-researched and engaging House & Garden This is a gorgeous book Guardian, 'Stocking Fillers' A vivid exploration of the world of colour and our colourful world ... St Clair is able to dance effortlessly through an astonishing range of subjects ... What The Secret Lives of Colour offers really is, in some sense, a flash portrait of human civilisation, a zigzagging and unpredictable exploration of how significantly colour has shaped histories and disciplines, fuelled empires, changed the nature of war and caused species to flourish or face extinction Royal Society of Chemistry Magazine Kassia St Clair obviously thinks (like any sensible person) that the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover' is nonsense. The cover of this one is dotted with tiny holes, each revealing a different colour. Such attention to detail is beautiful, and the same is true of the book's contents Daily Mail