A Cultural History of Beauty

What do we mean when we talk about human beauty? How have shifting ideas about beauty related to the construction of social class, race, gender and other markers of difference? How have individuals sought to "improve" their bodies in order to enhance their status and attractiveness?

In a work that spans 2,500 years, these questions are addressed by 54 experts from a broad range of disciplines, each contributing an overview of a theme applied to a period in history. Aided by a wide range of case material, they illustrate the practices and cultures of male and female beauty from antiquity to the present day. Individual volume editors ensure the cohesion of the whole and, to make it as easy as possible to use, chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in a single volumes, or following a theme across history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six.

The six volumes cover: 1 - Antiquity; 2 - the Middle Ages; 3 - the Early Modern Age; 4 - the Age of Enlightenment; 5 - the Age of Empire; 6 - the Modern Age.

Themes (and chapter titles) are: ideas of beauty; art and beauty; beauty, ugliness, and ideas of difference; nakedness and beauty; grooming and hygiene; making the body beautiful; material culture, clothing, and consumer practices; and desire, sexuality, and beauty.

The page extent for the set is 1,680 pages.

Special introductory offer (valid up to 3 months after publication): £395 / $550 (full price: £440 / $610)

The Cultural Histories Series
A Cultural History of Beauty is part of the Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available both as printed hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a one-off purchase and tangible reference for their shelves, or as part of a fully searchable digital library, updated twice a year and available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access. . See www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com for further information or to access content.