Description
Book SynopsisExamines a key transition in the meaning of envy for the American middle class. This book traces how attitudes about envy changed as department stores, magazines, movies, and advertising became prevalent, and the mass production of imitation luxury goods offered middle- and working-class individuals the opportunity to emulate upper-class life.
Trade Review"How the Tenth Commandment (that's the one about coveting) became extinct is a tale of how the emotional style of this country mutated within the golden years of the nascent consumer economy, which Susan J. Matt . . . defines as the period between 1890 and 1930. She explains that we couldn't be a nation of consumers until we were given public license to envy." *
New York Times *
"In this lively short book, Susan J. Matt surveys the legitimization of consumer desire that paralleled the demise of Victorian culture and the rise of modern culture from 1890 to 1930." *
Journal of American History *
"Drawing on memoirs, magazine articles, and sociological studies as well as reading between the lines of advertising copy, Matt gracefully evokes the pathos of consumerism in its formative years. . . . In highlighting the significance of envy as both the raw mental material and the ultimate product of consumer capitalism, this boldly argued book creatively extends the history of emotions." *
American Historical Review *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Chapter 1. City Women and the Quest for Status
Chapter 2. Envy in the Office
Chapter 3. "The Prizes of Life Lie Away from the Farm"
Chapter 4. From "Sturdy Yeoman" to "Hayseed'"
Chapter 5. Coming of Age in Consumer Society
Conclusion
Notes
Index
Acknowledgments
