Description
In 1855 William Whiteley, a draper's assistant, arrived in London with just a few pounds in his pocket. Fifty-two years later, owner of the world's largest department store, with illustrious clients including both English and overseas royalty, he was shot dead at the door of his own office. This is the dramatic tale of a larger-than-life entrepreneur - his bluff public image, his controversial retail success, his scandalous private life, and his tragic end.
Whiteleys department store was the first 'Universal Provider' - the Harrods of its time. Claiming to provide 'everything from a pin to an elephant' Whiteleys delivered on its promise and a measure of its success was an unsolicited royal warrant from Queen Victoria. Owner and creator William Whiteley was a kindly, family man, courteous to his customers and caring to his staff- at least in public. In private he was a bully and a tyrant, burned in effigy by local tradesmen and sued for divorce, on the grounds of adultery and cruelty, by his wife. His store was subjected to five major arson attacks and he was notorious for harsh behaviour towards his staff and for his affairs with young shop girls. The sensational trial of Whiteley's murderer not only revealed the dark side of the famous storeman, but saw an extraordinary outpouring of public sympathy- not for Whiteley, but for the man in the dock.
Filled with vivid anecdote and sensational events, this fascinating biography of the man behind the first department store in Britain will appeal to anyone interested in the life, and death, of one of the most colourful characters of Victorian Britain. ISBN:9780750935616 
