In the period from the 18th to the 21st centuries, the attitude towards loneliness changed more than once: it was seen either as a source of bliss and self-knowledge, or as a dangerous pathology, and in recent decades in some countries they began to talk with alarm about the coming “epidemic of loneliness”. To understand the historical background of this social phenomenon, historian David Vincent suggests looking at it from a cultural and sociological point of view. What is loneliness and how is it different from solitude? How did church and state institutions try to take control of it? What role did secularization and urbanization play in shaping new ideas about loneliness? The book introduces the history of many places and practices of voluntary and forced solitude - from monasteries to solitary confinement, from solo sailing around the world to the closed “bubbles” in which smartphones and headphones today immerse people... David Vincent is a historian, PhD, teaching at the Open University (OU) and Keele University.