The Making of Consumer Culture in Modern Britain

(Paperback)

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CHOICE OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC TITLE AWARD WINNER 2018 It is commonly accepted that the consumer is now centre stage in modern Britain, rather than the worker or producer. Consumer choice is widely regarded as the major source of self-definition and identity rather than productive activity. Politicians vie with each other to fashion their appeal to citizen-consumers'. When and how did these profound changes occur Which historical alternatives were pushed to the margins in the process In what ways did the everyday consumer practices and forms of consumer organising adopted by both middle and working-class men and women shape the outcomes This study of the making of consumer culture in Britain since 1800 explores these questions, introduces students to major debates and cuts a distinctive path through this vibrant field. It suggests that the consumer culture that emerged during this period was shaped as much by political relationships as it was by economic and social factors.

Reviews

The book provides important insights into class and gender as it pertains to politics and consumption, and highlights the dueling sense of satisfaction and anxiety that has characterized modern consumer culture. The well-paced analysis likewise traces the evolution of consumption-related practices such as advertising and the experience of shopping. The agency of consumers themselves is covered as well; Gurneys treatment of the history of cooperative ventures is particularly instructive in this regard ... Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. * CHOICE *
Consumer society in Britain has found its historian! In a clear yet challenging account, Peter Gurney has produced a comprehensive study of consumption in all its manifestations. He has done so by emphasising the important power dynamics that have shaped our role as consumers and the economy and society within which we live. Both new students and established scholars will find much to grapple with in these pages. * Matthew Hilton, Professor of Social History, Queen Mary University London, UK *
Gurney's book is essential reading for anyone interested in consumption, commodities and how they have all shaped modern Britain. And who can afford not to be interested in that Gurney is both a keen and enthusiastic shopper and well aware of the ethical, moral and critical dimensions to these debates. Ranging across the 19th and 20th centuries and through luxury and poverty, there is something for all here. Much like a good shop, an historian's emporium, one might say! * Lawrence Black, Professor of Modern History, University of York, UK *
A pleasurable but powerful study that demonstrates how retailing and shopping fashioned the history of modern Britain. With a great eye for key turning points and telling examples, Gurney has given us a sweeping overview of more than three decades of scholarship on the consumer culture, commercial practices, and politics of consumption in the nation of shopkeepers since the eighteenth century. * Erika Rappaport, Professor of History, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA *

Author Bio

Peter Gurney is Professor of British Social History at the University of Essex, UK.