The Business of Beauty

Clark’s study is an elegant one, rich in detail with a sophisticated argument that compellingly encapsulates an important element of the beauty scene in a major global city ... Debates over beauty—currently a multibillion-dollar global industry incorporate and reveal issues of business, law, the body, morality, and labour in Britain and beyond, making The Business of Beauty a timely and important contribution. * Histoire sociale/Social History * [T]his text complements existing work around fashion and modernity in London, with a timely focus on the impact that colonialism, nationalism, and gender based conventions in the nineteenth century have had on so many aspects of life. * Journal of Dress History * Clark’s fascinating study of beauty entrepreneurship in 19th-century London provides wonderful insights not only into Victorian and Edwardian business and marketing practices but also into the history of gender, self-fashioning, national identities, and urban cosmopolitanism. Through careful research, the author has unearthed a wide array of intriguing source material that will surprise and delight. * Paul R. Deslandes, University of Vermont, USA * In this lively and imaginative new study, Jessica Clark demonstrates how the Victorians invented a major beauty industry in the center of their capital city. By focusing on hairdressers and other beauty experts, Clark’s fascinating and entertaining new book establishes how London became the center of a new type of consumer culture, in which consumers who could afford it could transform their bodies and identities. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of London, gender and capitalism. * Erika Rappaport, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA *