The Cult of Youth: Anti-Ageing in Modern Britain by James F. Stark ISBN 9781108484152, 9781108695428, 1108484158, 1108695426 instant download

The Cult of Youth: Anti-Ageing in Modern Britain by James F. Stark ISBN 9781108484152, 9781108695428, 1108484158, 1108695426 instant download

In this major new study, James F. Stark provides the first historical account of the most dominant ideas, practices, and material cultures associated with anti-ageing and rejuvenation in modern Britain. With a focus on the interwar period, his study uncovers the role of the commercial world in influencing attitudes towards ageing and youth. Stark argues that the technologies of anti-ageing, their commercialisation and their consumption made rejuvenation a possible and desirable aim in a period of socio-political instability, mechanised conflict and extending lifespans. Ultimately, Stark offers an innovative historical account, which draws together bodies, gender, science, medicine, advertising, and ageing, and shows how the quest for youth was transformed by social anxieties about an ageing population and economic crisis.

-The first historical account of the ideas and practices associated with anti-ageing, or rejuvenation, in interwar Britain

-Examines how anti-ageing became part of mainstream culture during the interwar years

-Draws on a unique constellation of commercial archives, as well as newspapers and published scientific and medical texts, to provide an insight into the interaction between commercial and scientific activities