Retail Nation

Belisle (women's and gender studies, Athabasca U.) traces the transformation of Canada into a modern consumer nation from the 1880s to the 1940s and how mass merchandising changed Canadian life. She looks at the country's largest department stores--Eaton's, Simpson's, and the Hudson's Bay Company--and how they became the country's biggest retailers; their specific activities in the production, distribution, and consumption realms of the marketplace; and the histories of regional stores like Woodward's and Spencer's in British Columbia and Morgan's and Dupuis Freres in Quebec. She considers these activities in the context of responses of consumers, workers, governments, and critics and how they influenced the direction and character of consumption. She discusses aspects like paternalism, the commodification of workers, female customers' perceptions of retailers, and the role of female employees. Distributed by UTP Distribution. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Donica Bel isle is an assistant professor of women’s and gender studies at Athabasca University