The Watchful Clothier
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The Life of an Eighteenth-Century Protestant Capitalist
Matthew Kadane
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Format: ClothPrice: $85.00
A clothier and a deeply religious man, Joseph Ryder faithfully kept a diary from 1733 until his death, two and a half million words later, in 1768. Recently rediscovered and brilliantly interpreted by historian Matthew Kadane, Ryder’s diary provides an illuminating, real-life perspective on the relationship between capitalism and Protestantism at a time when Britain was rapidly changing from a traditional to a modern society. It also provides fascinating insights on the early modern family, the birth of industrialization, the history of Puritanism, the origins of Unitarianism, melancholy, and the making of the British middle class.
Matthew Kadane is an associate professor of history at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
“The Watchful Clothier is one of the most extraordinary works of history I can remember reading. Kadane has unearthed the missing link of Max Weber’s famed ‘Protestant ethic’: the vast spiritual diary of an eighteenth-century tradesman halfway through the transformation from Richard Baxter to Benjamin Franklin.”—Ethan Shagan, University of California Berkeley
"The personal experience of England's transition to capitalism comes alive in this beautifully-crafted study of a devout Protestant who is also a diligent businessman."—Joyce Appleby, author of The Relentless Revolution: A History of Capitalism
“Historians have long known of this extraordinary source, but Kadane’s thoughtful and readable book is the first to give it detailed attention.”—Arthur Burns, Church Times
Publication Date: January 29, 2013
15 b/w illus.
