Worlds Apart The Market and the Theater in Anglo-American Thought, 15501750 [Paperback]

Focusing on Britain and America in the years 1550 to 1750, the book discusses the forms and conventions that structured both commerce and theatre.An analysis of how changes in the market culture's identity were reflected in the theater world as British and American marketing practices began to break free of traditional boundaries.An analysis of how changes in the market culture's identity were reflected in the theater world as British and American marketing practices began to break free of traditional boundaries.Worlds Apart traces the history of our concepts of the marketplace and the theater and the ways in which these concepts are bound together. Focusing on Britain and America in the years 1550-1750, the book discusses the forms and conventions that structured both commerce and theater. Drawing on a variety of disciplines and documents, Professor Agnew illuminates one of the most fascinating chapters in the formation of Anglo-American market culture.Preface; Acknowledgments; Prologue: commerce and culture; 1. The threshold of exchange; 2. Another nature; 3. Artificial persons; 4. The spectacle of the market; Epilogue: confidence and culture; Notes; Index. This is a wide-ranging, thought-provoking book...It is impossible to illustrate here the width and depth of Agnew's insights. They cover carnival and festive celebrations generally, the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, courtesy books, rogue literature, character books, Francis Bacon, John Bulwer's theory of gesture as the universal communicative medium (1644-9-a new discovery for me), Hobbes (a key figure in Agnew's thesis), Addison, Shaftesbury, and Adam Smith's common sense philosophy. This appears to be Professor Agnew's first book. It is a remarkable achievement. Christopher Hill ...an arresting, stimulating book, ambitious in scope and impressively erudite...It is elegant, original, expansive. A very impressive monograph by a sharp intellect, it should be read by everyone with an interest in the major socilS>