{"product_id":"the-romance-of-a-shop-9781961884649","title":"The Romance of a Shop","description":"\u003cb\u003eAmy Levy's \u003ci\u003eThe Romance of a Shop\u003c\/i\u003e (1888) follows the four Lorimer sisters in the wake of their father's death. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003ePenniless and reliant on each other, they decide to open a photography studio at 20B Baker Street, offering the citizens of London quality portraits. It's the 1880s and photography is not only growing in popularity and accessibility, but those with a critical eye are elevating the medium associated with quick and steady cash into a true art form. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith more women entering the workforce out of necessity and rebellion, the Lorimer sisters take advantage of newfound independence as they work to survive poverty, the grind and smoke of London, fraught courtships, and melodramatic twists of fate. A novel of sisterhood, love, the female gaze and postmortem photography Levy deftly balances along the thin lines of romance and realism, art and commerce.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLeón, Rachel:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eRachel León\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer, editor, and social worker based in Rockford, IL. She is the Managing Director for \u003ci\u003eChicago Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e and Fiction Director for \u003ci\u003eArcturus\u003c\/i\u003e. Her work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe Rumpus, Catapult, LA Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e, and elsewhere. She is the editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Rockford Anthology\u003c\/i\u003e (Belt Publishing, 2025) and the author of the novel, \u003ci\u003eHow We See the Gray\u003c\/i\u003e (Curbstone Books, 2026).\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSmith, Allison Miriam:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAllison Miriam Smith\u003c\/b\u003e is a co-founder of Smith \u0026amp; Taylor Classics. She is also an Acquiring Editor and Publishing \u0026amp; Publicity Manager for Unnamed Press. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English \u0026amp; Creative Writing from the University of Southern California where she was an assistant curator for the USC Doheny Library George Cassady Lewis Carroll Special Collection. She later went on to earn a Masters in 18th \u0026amp; 19th c. Literature from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, working nights at the library. Before Unnamed Press, she was a bookseller at Skylight Books in Los Angeles, CA.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMadievsky, Ruth:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eRuth Madievsky\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the national bestselling novel, \u003ci\u003eAll-Night Pharmacy\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the California Book Award and the National Jewish Book Award for Debut Fiction, and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Her work appears in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, The Cut, Harper's Bazaar\u003c\/i\u003e, and elsewhere. Originally from Moldova, she lives in Los Angeles, where she works as a clinical pharmacist.\u003cbr\u003eEt al...\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Smith \u0026 Taylor Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51676186345746,"sku":"9781961884649","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_564f01be-f7b6-425d-858d-aced8f7b119f.jpg?v=1761049099","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-romance-of-a-shop-9781961884649","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}