The culture of the gift in eighteenth-century England
By: edited by Linda Zionkowski and Cynthia Klekar.
Contributors: Zionkowski, Linda.; Klekar, Cynthia.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2009
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 263
Subjects: Locke, John, -- 1632-1704 -- Influence; English literature -- 18th century -- History and criticism; Generosity in literature; Politics and literature -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century; Social classes -- England -- History -- 18th century; English language -- 18th century -- Social aspects; Great Britain -- Intellectual life -- 18th century
Description: "Offering a variety of disciplinary perspectives, The Culture of the Gift in Eighteenth-Century England analyzes the long-overlooked role of gift exchange in literary texts, cultural documents, and economic relations in the period from 1660-1800. Contributors argue that the gift was instrumental to the workings of eighteenth-century society: it supported the phenomenal rise of charities, explained the increasingly complicated trade relations, enforced conventions of obligation and social hierarchies, and both strengthened and challenged the emergence of a market economy.

Building upon the works of recent theorists, these essays provide innovative readings of how gift transactions shaped the institutions and practices that gave this era its distinctive identity."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p.   ) and index.