Taste and the Nation

This text provides an introduction to the history of taste through an explanation of the transformation of the political and social meaning of taste in England, France and in America in the early modern period just before, during and following their respective revolutionary upheavals. The author examines how and why changes in taste and consumption are similar in these three societies in this crucial period. It also analyzes how consumption was used to construct national allegiance or as a control of the populace in the wake of revolutions and the breakdown of monarchical authority. Concentrating on the mechanics of every day consumption, the book looks at the national and political implications of these consuming societies as well as the personal and domestic.