Fin de Siècle Europe: A Cultural History

An examination of the most significant social, artistic, intellectual, and political developments in Europe at the turn of the 20th century (1870 to 1914), Fin de Siècle Europe provides a comprehensive appraisal of this critical period in European history.

Anna Fishzon and Ian Beilin synthesize literary, musical, visual and philosophical material in order to develop a descriptive narrative as well as to interrogate the meanings and the very frame of 'fin de siècle' and its legacy. More than previous histories or document collections, the book also takes stock of the European fin de siècle's dependence on colonialism for definition and resonance. Part I surveys the fin de siècle from a thematic perspective and discusses degeneration, consumerism, science, technology, the media, mass politics, sex and the psyche, modernism and the avant-garde, celebrity culture and the role of women. Part II analyses the fin de siècle as it was experienced in the big cities of Paris, Vienna, London, Berlin and St Petersburg, the totemic cultural hubs that can be seen to represent, in different ways, so much of what this period in European history was about. 40 images, multiple charts, various primary source extracts, instructive further reading lists, a glossary and a chronology of events all further enhance reader understanding.

Both an interpretation of the fin de siècle as an urban phenomenon and a detailed exploration of its impact on the whole of Europe, this book is vital reading for any student seeking to know more about the fin de siècle and Europe in the long 19th-century.