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He explores how art was made and paid for, the turns of fashion, and the new demands of a growing middle-class, prominent among whom were the artists themselves. While leading figures such as Turner, Constable, Landseer, Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Dickens are players here, so too are the patrons, financiers, collectors and industrialists; publishers, entrepreneurs, and journalists; artists' suppliers, engravers, dealers and curators; hostesses, shopkeepers and brothel keepers; quacks, charlatans, and auctioneers. Hamilton brings them all vividly to life in this kaleidoscopic portrait of the business of culture in nineteenth-century Britain, and provides thrilling and original insights into the working lives of some of the era's most celebrated artists.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781605988702","publication_date":"20150915","publisher":"Pegasus Books","slug":"a-strange-business","subtitle":"Kindle Edition","title":"A Strange Business"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"ART006000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Exhibitions & Catalogs","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"ART015000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Art History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS015000","confidence_band":"high","label":"British History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}],"hint":[],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"ART006000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Exhibitions & Catalogs","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"ART015000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Art History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS015000","confidence_band":"high","label":"British History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Exhibitions & Catalogs","score":1,"slug":"exhibitions-catalogs"},{"label":"Art History","score":1,"slug":"art-history"},{"label":"British History","score":1,"slug":"british-history"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Exhibitions & Catalogs","Good for readers interested in business","Good for fans of History"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Neil MacGregor"],"book_id":"9780670022700","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780670022700.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":11.6408,"title":"A History of the World in 100 Objects","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780670022700"},{"authors":["Shashi Tharoor","Tantor Audio"],"book_id":"9781947534308","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781947534308.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":10.3435,"title":"Inglorious Empire","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781947534308"},{"authors":["David Cannadine","Kris Dyer","Audible Studios","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9780525557890","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780525557890.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":9.6475,"title":"Victorious Century","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780525557890"},{"authors":["Peter Ackroyd"],"book_id":"9781250812162","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781250812162.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":9.5643,"title":"Dominion","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781250812162"},{"authors":["Walter R. 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