Fortune, Fame, and Desire

Promoting the Self in the Long Nineteenth Century

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, 19th Century
Cover of the book Fortune, Fame, and Desire by Sharon Hartman Strom, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sharon Hartman Strom ISBN: 9781442272668
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Publication: September 19, 2016
Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Language: English
Author: Sharon Hartman Strom
ISBN: 9781442272668
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Publication: September 19, 2016
Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Language: English

In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, a widening set of opportunities in the public sphere opened up for ambitious men and women in the loosely structured stratum of “the middle class.” Much of the attention to the marketplace between 1820 and 1910 has described entrepreneurship and the beginnings of a more sophisticated economy, but not much has been paid to the commodification of the self. This book sets out to explore the promotion of the self in the rapidly growing economy and political flux of the nineteenth century. Its geography extends through New England, New York, the new states of the Midwest, and the great cities of the Mid-Atlantic, with an occasional trip to New Orleans, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The approach is biographical, using representative middle class figures to illuminate cultural and social history. Aided by more cheaply produced print and the clamor of the American public for entertainment both high and low brow, the figures described in this book strove for fame, sometimes achieved good fortune, and acted out desires for sexual pleasure, political success, and achieving the ideal in society. In doing so they questioned and rearranged the ideas of the early Republic. Poised between the dying class structure of the late eighteenth century and the rise of a more hierarchical one in the early twentieth, they took advantage of a society in flux to make their mark on American culture.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, a widening set of opportunities in the public sphere opened up for ambitious men and women in the loosely structured stratum of “the middle class.” Much of the attention to the marketplace between 1820 and 1910 has described entrepreneurship and the beginnings of a more sophisticated economy, but not much has been paid to the commodification of the self. This book sets out to explore the promotion of the self in the rapidly growing economy and political flux of the nineteenth century. Its geography extends through New England, New York, the new states of the Midwest, and the great cities of the Mid-Atlantic, with an occasional trip to New Orleans, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The approach is biographical, using representative middle class figures to illuminate cultural and social history. Aided by more cheaply produced print and the clamor of the American public for entertainment both high and low brow, the figures described in this book strove for fame, sometimes achieved good fortune, and acted out desires for sexual pleasure, political success, and achieving the ideal in society. In doing so they questioned and rearranged the ideas of the early Republic. Poised between the dying class structure of the late eighteenth century and the rise of a more hierarchical one in the early twentieth, they took advantage of a society in flux to make their mark on American culture.

More books from Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Cover of the book Getting the Word Out by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book A Time for Change? by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book 100 Books Every Folk Music Fan Should Own by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book Understanding Conflict and Change in a Multicultural World by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book Using Functional Analysis in Archival Appraisal by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book U.S. Nuclear Diplomacy with Iran by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book Boxology by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book Your Baby's Best Shot by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book Annual Review of Cultural Heritage Informatics by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book Samuel Adams by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book The Life of Kings by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book The Idea of a Political Liberalism by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book Paying Freedom's Price by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book Historical Dictionary of Hume's Philosophy by Sharon Hartman Strom
Cover of the book Lies That Bind by Sharon Hartman Strom
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy