The real contribution of Baker's book, however, is that he
sees in Willis's career a host of important issues that drive to the heart of
antebellum celebrity culture: the commercialization of intimacy, the
marketability of exposure, the public's desire for scandal, gossip, and
confession. Other commentators have described this version of celebrity as
a twentieth-century phenomenon. Baker corrects the record, demonstrating
that by 1840, celebrity culture was thriving in the trans-Atlantic world. -- DHB
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