{"product_id":"9781350370210","title":"Being Pretty in the Eighteenth Century A Cultural History of Female Beauty","description":"\u003ch1\u003eBeing Pretty in the Eighteenth Century\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Cultural History of Female Beauty\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eKatherine Aske\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003ePhilosophy \/ Aesthetics\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eUncovering how and why eighteenth-century definitions of beauty established cultural beliefs that continue to persist, Katherine Aske explores the ways female beauty was described, interpreted, celebrated, criticised and recreated between 1690 and 1801.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Eighteenth-century Britain saw a surge of publications discussing the subject of beauty through scientific theories, aesthetic philosophy and social experience. Beauty's physical ideals at this time – symmetrical features, fair skin and rosy cheeks – were aligned with overtly feminine qualities, such as delicacy, virtue and sensibility. Yet women's beauty could also incite sexual desire and accusations of pride, foolishness and falsity. Tracing the understanding of beauty through discussions of physiognomy, aesthetics, social behaviour, cosmetics, and literary depictions of the ideal woman, Aske dissects the definition of beauty as a combination of exterior and interior qualities. She investigates beauty's paradoxical interpretations and unpicks the attempts to rationalise a definition of beauty through the idiom that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e By arguing that the conceptualisation of beauty amplified existing cultural, gendered and racial prejudices, Aske showcases how beauty illuminated important sociocultural factors and is a topic as relevant today as it was in the eighteenth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eKatherine Aske \u003c\/b\u003eis Senior Research Assistant and Associate Lecturer at Northumbria University, UK.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e24 December 2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781350370210\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e256\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e16.0\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51197066379404,"sku":"9781350370210","price":103.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/getimage_1570f07b-de71-48b1-92de-896e5caec279.jpg?v=1782962282","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9781350370210","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}