In this fascinating study, Maureen Perkins looks at the concept of time - and how we measure it - to see what it reveals about struggles for control and autonomy throughout history. Linking the decline of superstition in the nineteenth century to the discovery of mechanisms to measure time, Perkins argues that this marginalization of superstition is part of a social history of time management.

The decline of magic is usually discussed in terms of the rise of scientific knowledge and the spread of education. Here, Perkins gives unique insight into the way in which the ruling classes used the technology to invent new concepts of time to increase their control over the lives of their subjects. Approaching enduring questions of colonialisation and class from an unusual angle, she relates differing concepts of time to colonial discourse, particularly in relation to gypsies and to Australian Aborigines and finally to the development of national identity in calendar illustrations. The book also explores astrology and prophetic dreaming.