The Jewel Of Knightsbridge: The Origins Of The Harrods Empire
by Robin Harrod /
2017 / English / EPUB
9.6 MB Download
In 1836, Charles Harrod found himself in a prison hulk awaiting
transportation to Tasmania for seven years’ hard labor. He had
been convicted of receiving stolen goods, and this should have
been the beginning of the end for his fledgling business. And
yet, in miraculously escaping his fate and vowing to turn his
back on crime, he would become the much-esteemed founder of the
now-legendary Harrods in London’s fashionable Knightsbridge
district. Some years later, Charles was succeeded by his son, who
took the shop from a successful local grocer to a remarkable
department store, patronized by the wealthy and famous. This book
reveals the previously unknown and scandalous origins of the
store, and follows its remarkable fortunes to the end of the 19th
century, when its shares were floated on the stock exchange, thus
completing one of the most extraordinary comeback stories in the
history of commerce.
In 1836, Charles Harrod found himself in a prison hulk awaiting
transportation to Tasmania for seven years’ hard labor. He had
been convicted of receiving stolen goods, and this should have
been the beginning of the end for his fledgling business. And
yet, in miraculously escaping his fate and vowing to turn his
back on crime, he would become the much-esteemed founder of the
now-legendary Harrods in London’s fashionable Knightsbridge
district. Some years later, Charles was succeeded by his son, who
took the shop from a successful local grocer to a remarkable
department store, patronized by the wealthy and famous. This book
reveals the previously unknown and scandalous origins of the
store, and follows its remarkable fortunes to the end of the 19th
century, when its shares were floated on the stock exchange, thus
completing one of the most extraordinary comeback stories in the
history of commerce.