3 Review(s)

"A fascinating account of the powerful roles fur has played in various cultures and of the historical and political forces at work in the play of its meanings."-Jonathan Culler, Cornell University "In this well-written treatise, Emberley... views fur through widely disparate lenses.... Emberley is able to make us understand all the viewpoints she presents.... A valuable book on a little-explored subject."-Library Journal "This is a strong and intelligent work on a controversial topic. Emberley's book is much more intellectually sophisticated than anything else I've seen on this subject."-Valerie Steele, Editor, Fashion Theory "Julia Emberley's book is a complex, wide-ranging, and fascinating feminist critique of the history and meaning of fur and fashion. Particularly unique is her integration of indigenous voices into the debates."-Lucy Lippard, author of The Pink Glass Swan: Selected Feminist Essays on Art Fur has been sparking controversies ever since sumptuary laws marked it as a luxury item and as a sign of medieval class privilege. Drawing on wide-ranging historical and contemporary sources, Julia V. Emberley explains how a material good has become both a symbol of wealth and sexuality, and a symptom of class, gender, and imperial antagonisms.