The notion that time spent in the home is somehow wasted, is a relatively recent one—but it’s quickly become widely held. Helen Hayward’s 2023 book Home Work: Essays on Love & Housekeeping questions it. In times when couples and families can and are seeking to divide labour more equally, when society is trying to give working women the same opportunities and pay as men, and when technology is promising everything but an escape from housework, Hayward elevates it as worthy of time, effort, and attention.