Consumer Chronicles
Subtitle: Cultures of Consumption in Modern French Literature
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Published: 2011
Language: eng
Number of pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9781846314872
Subjects: French literature, history and criticism, 20th century; Material culture; Popular culture, france
Description: Since its 19th century beginnings, the consumer revolution, extending market forces into every area of social and private life, has been perceived as a challenge to core elements in French culture, such as traditional artisan crafts and small businesses serving local communities. Cultural historians and sociologists have charted the increasing commercialisation of everyday life over the 20th century, but few have paid systematic attention to the crucial testimony provided by the authors of narrative fiction. This book rectifies this omission by means of close readings of a series of novels, selected for their authentic portrayal of consumer behaviour, and analysed in relation to their social, cultural and historical contexts.