Daniel Roche Book order

The book explores the emergence of consumer society through an analysis of the historical significance of everyday objects. Daniel Roche delves into how these items reflect societal changes and contribute to the understanding of consumer culture. By tracing the evolution of common goods, the narrative highlights the interplay between material culture and social dynamics, offering insights into the values and behaviors that shape consumerism.

Focusing on the history of dress in seventeenth and eighteenth-century France, the book examines how clothing choices reflect social class distinctions. Through an analysis of inventories, it reveals the varying expenditures on attire and the types of fabrics utilized by different social strata. Daniel Roche situates this study within the broader context of French historiography, offering insights into cultural practices related to appearance during this period.

The foremost historian of 18th-century France explores how the Old Regime's institutions operated and how they were understood by the people who worked within them. Roche depicts the "culture of appearances"--the food and clothing, living quarters, and reading material of the peasant, the merchant, the noble, the King, from Paris to the provinces.