In early 1909, a new retail emporium readied for business on the "wrong end of Oxford Street" in London. The man behind it was an odd little American with a waxed mustache and frenetic nature. Harry Gordon Selfridge had spent the previous twenty-five years in Chicago honing his skills at the venerable Marshall Field and Company before unleashing his concept of retail theater in the United Kingdom. Follow Selfridge's astounding rise through the ranks of the Windy City's merchant princes, his tumultuous attempt to challenge Field's mastery of Chicago and his triumphant introduction of the American department store to London.
Gayle Soucek is an author and freelance editor with more than a dozen books to her credit, including Marshall Field's, Carson's and several other titles with The History Press. Her interests include a wide range of subjects, from history to ornithology to science and true crime. She is a lifelong Chicagoan and Blackhawks hockey fan, residing in the far northwest suburbs with her photographer husband, dogs, parrots, reptiles and one very laid-back cat.