Shopping as Comedy: A Victorian Scrapbook

<p>This volume is a critical edition of a Victorian scrapbook composed of cuttings from advertising images from the 1880's. These images are arranged in hand-drawn domestic spaces and embellished with watercolour details. At the foot of each page is a <br>handwritten running text written by an unknown Victorian author that provides a narrative to explain the accompanying images. The album also includes four original short stories interspersed by twenty-three vignettes which like advertisements in <br>a magazine echo and reinforce themes in the surrounding content. The album highlights issues of concern to women at the fin de siècle: romance marriage shopping and house decoration. </p> <p>The satirical commentary on late Victorian shopping and commodity culture provides a fascinating insight into the interests and responses of consumers during this period. The volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of literary and advertising history.</p>