The Character of Credit: Personal Debt in English Culture, 1740-1914 (Cambridge Social and Cultural Histories #1)
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
First Edition. Hardcover.
Personal credit relations were ubiquitous in English consumer markets, binding family members, friends, neighbors, customers and tradesmen in tangled liens of mutual obligation. In this study of the social history of personal debt and credit, Margo Finn reveals the pre-eminence of social individuals – men, women, and children whose ability to engage in credit contracts was contingent upon their dependent social status. The author uses a wide range of printed and manuscript sources, paying particular attention to distinctions of gender and class to examine English consumer culture from three interlocking perspectives. Finn considers representations of debt in novels, diaries, and autobiographical memoirs; the transformation of imprisonment for debt; and the use of small claims courts to mediate disputes between debtors and creditors. A major study of personal debt from 1740 to 1914 will appeal to social, legal and cultural historians, literary scholars and readers interested in the history of consumer culture.
Item #901309ISBN: 0521823420
6-1/8 x 9-1/4”, black paper over boards, xii, 362pp, bibliography, index, 10 illustrations, 3 tables.
Fine in dust wrapper and protective mylar.
Price: $65.00