Jan Hein Furnee - Böcker

This collection of essays examines the history of urban leisure cultures in Europe during the transition from the early modern to the modern period. Bringing together research on a wide variety of activities - from the theatre and art exhibitions to spas, seaside resorts and games - it develops a new scholarly agenda for the history of leisure, focusing on the complex processes of cultural transfer that transformed urban leisure culture from the British Isles to the Ottoman Empire. How did new models of urban leisure pastimes travel throughout Europe? Who were the main agents of cultural innovation, appropriation and adaptation? How did the increasingly entangled character of European urban leisure culture impact upon the ways men and women from various classes identified with their social, cultural or (proto-)national communities? These are some of the questions explored by this accessible and wide-ranging collection, which looks at leisure from a long-term, interdisciplinary and transnational perspective.

In the Age of Enlightenment (1650-1800) the word ‘leisure’ had a limited presence in intellectual discourse, but in public debates about related concepts such as pleasure and luxury modern practices of and attitudes towards leisure were increasingly discussed. Not surprisingly, as leisure acquired an increasing presence in the economy and in the patterns of people’s lives. Between low cost popular entertainments and high cost elite culture, commercial entrepreneurs developed a growing range of leisure pursuits for a growing market. Leisure became more sharply defined: in recreational spaces and specific leisure destinations such as spa towns and seaside resorts, as well as in time. How did various people navigate between aspects of leisure that were celebrated or contested? How did the rise of polite culture and competitive emulation impact on shifting trends? A Cultural History of Leisure in the Age of Enlightenment, with particular attention to the British experience, presents an overview of key themes and trends in this period, with essays on: Ideas of leisure; The performing arts and their audiences; The cerebral arts and their publics; Sports and games; Holydays, holidays and tourism; The world of conviviality; The world of goods; The world of nature; Representations of leisure.A Cultural History of Leisure is part of The Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available as hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a tangible reference for their shelves or as part of a fully-searchable digital library. The digital product is available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access via www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com. Individual volumes for academics and researchers interested in specific historical periods are also available in print or digitally via www.bloomsburycollections.com.

The Age of Empire (1800-1920) stands out as a profoundly new era in the history of leisure. Especially in cities and towns the landscape of recreation substantially expanded and differentiated, motivating growing masses of people in the Western world to cultivate their increasing – and increasingly demarcated – leisure time. Men and women of all classes and ages enthusiastically embraced new commercial, state and civic initiatives to enjoy, enrich and display themselves – from music halls, reading rooms and shopping streets to parks, zoos and seaside resorts. Reading, games and gardening made their homes a more pleasurable place too. Which actors and factors were in play to make leisure meaningful? How did leisure activate both people’s minds and bodies in novel ways? How did leisure culture travel across national and continental borders? A Cultural History of Leisure in the Age of Empire, with a particular emphasis on Western and Central Europe, presents an overview of key themes and trends in this period, with essays on: Ideas of leisure; The performing arts and their audiences; The cerebral arts and their publics; Sports and games; Holydays, holidays and tourism; The world of conviviality; The world of goods; The world of nature; Representations of leisure.A Cultural History of Leisure is part of The Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available as hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a tangible reference for their shelves or as part of a fully-searchable digital library. The digital product is available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access via www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com. Individual volumes for academics and researchers interested in specific historical periods are also available in print or digitally via www.bloomsburycollections.com.