A Cultural History of Shopping in the Age of Revolution and Empire (The Cultural Histories Series)

A Cultural History of Shopping was a Library Journal Best in Reference selection for 2022. Shopping emerged as a special pleasure and problem during the period between the revolutionary upheavals of the late 18th century and the opening salvoes of the Great War.New shops, new products, new class and gender ideologies, new standards of comfort and hygiene, and rising living standards for some meant that people, especially women, spent more time shopping and engaging in consumer-oriented activities beyond the walls of the shop.At the same time, social commentators, local and national authorities, economists, and many husbands became concerned about the ‘dangers’ of shopping, believing that the department store was emancipating women and destroying society in the process.This volume explores shopping in the 19th century as a varied and embedded social, political, economic, and cultural activity.It draws out the continuities with earlier periods as well as examining how the department stor