Skip to Main Content

The Worlds of Victor Sassoon: Bombay, London, Shanghai, 1918-1941

Online ISBN:
9780226834191
Print ISBN:
9780226834184
Publisher:
University of Chicago Press
Book

The Worlds of Victor Sassoon: Bombay, London, Shanghai, 1918-1941

Rosemary Wakeman
Rosemary Wakeman

Professor

Fordham University
Find on
Published online:
23 January 2025
Published in print:
12 July 2024
Online ISBN:
9780226834191
Print ISBN:
9780226834184
Publisher:
University of Chicago Press

Abstract

This book is an interpretative history of global urbanity in the 1920s and 1930s. It focuses on the networks of global capitalism and diaspora in the mid-twentieth century and the movement of trade and money, people and cultures between Bombay, London, and Shanghai. The three places were global crossroads, great maritime ports and among the largest cities in the world. They were lavish agents of modernity and allow us to see the ways in which globalization played out at the level of cities. The figure of business tycoon Victor Sassoon ties the narrative together. This charismatic and controversial member of the Sassoon dynasty provides insight into the urban cultures woven by business elites and their material assets. The lens is on the global transactions in goods, bullion, finance and banking, and real estate, and on globalization as a regime of social and cultural practices. The three cities were at the forefront of mass society, of social inequalities and political upheaval, of pioneering urban form and space. The book examines the urban bonds and interdependencies between these cities along with the complex character of global capitalism, the dispersion of people and resources in moments of global crisis, and how these vital worldwide forces impacted urbanization. It explores these geographies of circulation and argues that the sweeping flow of people, capital, trade, and practices created polymorphic urban cultures dominated by global interaction and influences.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close