The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker: A History of the High Street
(Annie Gray, Profile, £22)
I’ve included this review on this website because if you happen to teach history, economic history or similar subjects, it may be of interest. It may also be of interest to you as a general reader.
As a teacher of education technology, you could use excerpts from this book to stimulate a discussion about how shopping has changed since the advent of the internet. There is also the interesting thought that many people still prefer going to physical shops — especially when it comes to books!
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This might seem like an esoteric book at first glance, but it warrants closer inspection. Taking readers from the Middle Ages to (more or less) the present day, Gray charts how the places where we do our shopping and what we buy have changed over the centuries. Along the way we gain a deeper understanding of societal and economic history, alongside the references you’d expect to Pepys and other English classroom mainstays. In that context, it could provide some useful context when studying Austen’s Bath episodes.
There are sections in the book dedicated to specific trades, including the titular tailors, as well as examinations of towns outside of London.
Despite the huge volume of research that clearly went into its creation, this is no dry, academic tome. Warmly recommended.
This book was first reviewed in Teach Secondary magazine.