Scholars have only recently begun to appreciate the extent to which the norms and practices that foster market societies have been shifting. Not only has 'the market' been perceived and represented differently in different epochs; it has also been experienced differently, brought into being within dissimilar political and social settings, and has given rise to new and various forms of intellectual and imaginative activity. The thirteen essays collected in this volume belong to a new historical endeavour deriving from the recognition that the experiences and feelings engendered by the historical development of market societies have been, and still remain, open to a broad range of interpretations. They share, too, the characteristic accents of a new approach to cultural history, in which careful examination of actions, texts, and artifacts is accompanied by an open-mindedness about what their examination reveals.
