Shopping, Seduction and Mr Selfridge cover

Shopping, Seduction and Mr Selfridge

by Lindy Woodhead

"When the visionary American retailer Harry Gordon Selfridge, rightfully known as 'the showman of shopping', moved from Chicago to open his eponymous store in Oxford Street, he brought with him his heartfelt belief in the sex appeal of shopping." "In the process Selfridge became rich and famous, But his weakness for high living: fast women, grand houses, extravagant entertaining and an insatiable addiction to gambling, brought about his downfall." "Thirty years after he opened his revolutionary store, Harry Gordon Selfridge was ousted in a Board Room coup. In 1947, he died virtually penniless in a small flat in Putney. His memorial is in Oxford Street, where the towering Ionic columns of Selfridges stand witness to the achievement of his dreams." "In this book, which explores the rise of twentieth-century consumerism, Lindy Woodhead tells the extraordinary story of a revolution in shopping and the rise and fall of a retail prince."--BOOK JACKET.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?