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This volume uses the extreme case of misers to examine interlocking categories that undergirded the emergence of modern British society, including new perspectives on charity, morality, and marriage; new representations of passion and sympathy; and new modes of saving, spending, and investment.
Misers surveys this class of people-as invented and interpreted in sermons, poems, novels, and plays; analyzed by economists and philosophers; and profiled in obituaries and biographies-to explore how British attitudes about saving money shifted between 1700 and 1860. As opposed to the century before, the nineteenth century witnessed a new appreciation for misers, as economists credited them with adding to the nation's stock of capital and novelists newly imagined their capacity to empathize with fellow human beings. These characters shared the spotlight with real people who posthumously donned that label, populating into a cottage industry of miser biographies by the 1850s. By the time A Christmas Carol appeared in 1843, many Victorians had come to embrace misers as links that connected one generation's extreme saving with the next generation's virtuous spending.
With a broad chronological period, this volume is useful for students and scholars interested in representation of misers in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain.
List of contents
Introduction, 1. Miserable Sinners, 2. Necessary Evils, 3. Misers, Sex, and the Family, 4. The Butt of All Jokes, 5. Characters, 6. Saving Graces, 7. Succeeding Misers
About the author
Timothy Alborn is Professor of History at Lehman College and the City University of New York. He is the author of All That Glittered: Britain’s Most Precious Metal from Adam Smith to the Gold Rush (2019) and, previously, books on life insurance (2009) and corporate governance (1998).
Summary
This volume uses the extreme case of misers to examine interlocking categories that undergirded the emergence of modern British society, including new perspectives on charity, morality, and marriage; new representations of passion and sympathy; and new modes of saving, spending, and investment.
Report
"a vast, rich archive that builds a foundation for both deeper investigation into particular texts or genres, as well as for a broader discussion of capitalism and culture." - Peter J. Katz, California Northstate University, The Journal of Interdisciplinary History
"There are some indications that the vexed separation of economics and history is being bridged, or at least patched, by something new, loosely called "his>tories of economic life." If so, Alborn is surely among the founding practitioners of that approach. With earlier books on corporate governance, life insurance, and the cultural power of gold, Alborn has ranged widely across the experience of economic life in eighteenth and nineteenth century Britain. Misers is another valuable contribution" - Trevor Jackson, George Washington University, Eighteenth Century Studies
"Misers' strength lies in its interdisciplinary approach, seamlessly blending literary analysis with cultural and economic history. It is a testament to the power of this kind of work in illuminating the complex interplay between economic realities and cultural representation. It not only enriches our understanding of literary tropes but also offers valuable insights into the cultural history of capitalism. Alborn's work stands as a significant contribution to both literary studies and economic history, challenging readers to reconsider the cultural constructs that shape our understanding of wealth and its accumulation. A truly inspiring work" - Andrew McDiarmid, University College Dublin, Victorian Studies
