In this book, Watts examines why meat mattered to a growing number of Parisians and explores the political, economic and cultural matters of the meat trade in order to illuminate more fully the changing world of Old Regime Paris.

Introduction
The Political Economy of Meat
Meat and the Social Hierarchy
Liberty and Regulation in the Cattle Markets
Order and Disorder in the Urban Meat Markets
Guild Unity and Discord
In the Service of a Master: Apprentices and Journeymen
Building the Family Firm: Marriage and Succession
Butcher Fortune and the Workings of Credit
Conclusion: The Rise of Meat