Fin-de-Siècle Europe: A Cultural History

By Anna Fishzon and Ian Beilin

An examination of the most significant social, artistic, intellectual, and political developments in Europe at the turn of the 20th century (1870 to 1914), Fin-de-Si cle Europe engages sources of the period and subsequent scholarly debates to provide a truly comprehensive appraisal of this critical period in European history.

Anna Fishzon and Ian Beilin synthesize literary, musical, visual and philosophical material in order to develop a descriptive narrative as well as to interrogate the meanings and the very frame of 'fin de si cle' and its legacy. More than previous histories or document collections, the book also takes stock of the European fin de si cle's dependence on colonialism for definition and resonance.

The text begins with an introduction that explores the nature of the fin de si cle and modernity more generally before splitting into two main parts. Part I surveys the fin de si cle from a thematic perspective and discusses degeneration, consumerism, science, technology, the media, mass politics, sex and the psyche, modernism and the avant-garde, celebrity culture and the role of women. Part II analyses the fin de si cle as it was experienced in the big cities of Paris, Vienna, London, Berlin and St Petersburg, the totemic cultural hubs that can be seen to represent, in different ways, so much of what this period in European history was about. The observations and arguments of Fin-de-Si cle Europe are then summarized and the legacy of the fin de si cle analysed in a conclusion, with 40 images, charts, primary source extracts, further reading lists, a glossary and a chronology of events all included to further enhance understanding.

Both an interpretation of the fin de si cle as an urban phenomenon and a detailed exploration of its impact on the whole of Europe, this book is vital reading for any student seeking to know more about the fin de si cle and Europe in the long 19th-century.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1474254225
• ISBN13: 9781474254229
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Length: 368 Pages