Histories of Leisure [Hardcover]

In the wake of the American and French revolutions, European culture saw the evolution of a new leisure regime never previously enjoyed. Now we speak of modern leisure societies, but the history of leisure, its experiences and expectations, its scope and variability, still remains largely a matter of conjecture. One message that has emerged from a multiplicity of disciplines is that research on leisure and consumption opens up a hitherto untapped mine of information on the broader issues of politics, society, culture and economics. How have leisure regimes in Europe evolved since the eighteenth century? Why has leisure culture crystallized around particular practices, sites and objects? Above all, what sorts of connections and meanings have been inscribed in leisure practices, and how might these be compared across time and space? This book is the first to provide an historical overview of modern leisure in a wide range of manifestations: travel, entertainment, sports, fashion, 'taste' and much more. It will be essential reading for anyone wishing to know more about European history and culture or simply how people spent their free time before the age of television and the internet.

[Histories of Leisure] brings a much-needed European perspective to the history of leisure, a subject which has previously tended to be looked at from the perspective of individual national experiences . . . It adds substantially to the currently fashionable study of cultures of consumption. Economic History Review

Framed as these chapters are within the book's wider remit of an examination of the cultures of consumption, they offer the perfect interaction between the history of sport and its partner sub-discipline, the history of leisure. Journal of Contemporary History

Koshar's introductory essay presents an excellent overview on approaches to and definition of leisure and its practices and rituals. Uniformly well written with fresh insights l‰