The analysis of social classes and social relations in the second half of the nineteenth century has caused major debates among social historians. In this book, first published in 1995, Alastair Reid provides a critical summary of the different approaches to the subject, giving an account of how interpretations have developed since the 1960s, and highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. The author explains how the influence of social sciences in the 1960s led scholars to emphasise the rise to power of the bourgeoisie, and the increasing subordination of the industrial working class. Recently more detailed research has led to a return to the older historical emphasis on the persistence of aristocratic power, the increasing independence of the working classes, and the centrality of voluntary agreement in a social order based on consent. The conclusion suggests new ways in which the subject might be approached. A select bibliography allows the reader to pursue the topic in more detail.

A clear guide to the debates surrounding British social history between 1850 and 1914. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

In this wholly original and brilliantly argued book, the author shows that Britons have indeed been preoccupied with class, but in ways that are invariably ignorant and confused.

A Companion to Nineteenth-Century Britain presents 33 essaysby expert scholars on all the major aspects of the political,social, economic and cultural history of Britain during the lateGeorgian and Victorian eras. Truly British, rather than English, in scope. Pays attention to the experiences of women as well as ofmen. Illustrated with maps and charts. Includes guides to further reading.

This book examines a diverse set of civic war memorials in North East England commemorating three clusters of conflicts: the Crimean War and Indian Rebellion in the 1850s; the ‘small wars’ of the 1880s; and the Boer War from 1899 to 1902. Encompassing a protracted timeframe and embracing disparate social, political and cultural contexts, it analyses how and why war memorials and commemorative practices changed during this key period of social transition and imperial expansion. In assessing the motivations of the memorial organisers and the narratives they sought to convey, the author argues that developments in war commemoration were primarily influenced by – and reflected – broader socio-economic and political transformations occurring in nineteenth-century and early-twentieth century Britain.

This ambitious survey covers all aspects of the period in which English society acquired its modern shape -- industrial rather than agricultural, urban rather than rural, democratic in its institutions, and middle class rather than aristocratic in the control of political power. For this revised edition the footnotes and bibliography have been fully updated, and the entire text has been reset in a larger and more attractive format. An ideal introduction to the subject, it masters a huge amount of material through its clear structure, sensible judgements and approachable style.

This book details a significant and largely untold history of the demand for cheap, fashionable clothing for young working-class women. This is an interdisciplinary fashion and business history analysis that investigates the design, manufacture, retailing and consumption of fashion for and by young working-class women in 1930s Britain. It concentrates on new mass developments in the design and manufacture of lightweight day dresses styled for younger women, and on their retailing in the second-hand trade and seconds dealing, street markets, new multiple stores, department stores, independent dress shops and home dressmaking. The book also discusses the specific impact of this new product within the emerging mass manufactured goods mail order catalogue industry in England. These outlets all offered venues of consumption to the young, employed, modern working-class woman, and are analysed in the context of old and new businesses practices. The actuality of the garments worn by these young women is paramount to this research and will be at the forefront of all findings and outcomes.

Britain since 1707 is the first single-volume book to cover the complex and multi-layered history of Great Britain from its inception until 2007. Bringing together political, economic, social and cultural history, the book offers a reliable and balanced account of the nation over a 300 year period. It looks at major developments – such as the Enlightenment, the growth of democracy and gender change – while also tracing the distinctive experience of different, the book’s additional features include: social and ethnic groups through the decades. Fully integrating Scotland, Wales and the Irish experience, the book’s comprehensive sweep includes coverage of the industrial revolution, the British Empire, the two world wars and today’s multicultural society. Ideally structured to support courses and classes on British history · ‘Focus On’ sections with original documents and sources · Timelines and tables to aid understanding · Historical sources and further reading suggestions at the end of each chapter · Illuminating contemporary illustrations From Queen Anne to Gordon Brown, this wide-ranging and accessible book provides a complete and up-to-date history of Britain. Offering a coherent account of the evolution of the nation and its people, it will be essential reading for all students of British history.

Using a neo-Marxian perspective, Benno Engels examines the absence of urban planning in nineteenth-century England. In his analysis of urbanization in England, Engels considers the influences of property owners, inheritance laws, local government structures, fiscal crises of the local and central state, shifts in voter sentiments, fluctuating economic conditions, and class-based pressure group activity.

2018 Choice Outstanding Academic Title ******************************** The Late-Victorian cultural mission to London’s slums was a peculiar effort towards social reform that today is largely forgotten or misunderstood. The philanthropy of middle and upper-class social workers saw hundreds of art exhibitions, concerts of fine music, evening lectures, clubs and socials, debates and excursions mounted for the benefit of impoverished and working-class Londoners. Ginn’s vivid and provocative book captures many of these in detail for the first time. In refreshing our understanding of this obscure but eloquent activism, Ginn approaches cultural philanthropy not simply as a project of class self-interest, nor as fanciful ‘missionary aestheticism.’ Rather, he shows how liberal aspirations towards adult education and civic community can be traced in a number of centres of moralising voluntary effort. Concentrating on Toynbee Hall in Whitechapel, the People’s Palace in Mile End, Red Cross Hall in Southwark and the Bermondsey Settlement, the discussion identifies the common impulses animating practical reformers across these settings. Drawing on new primary research to clarify reformers’ underlying intentions and strategies, Ginn shows how these were shaped by a distinctive diagnosis of urban deprivation and anomie. In rebutting the common view that cultural philanthropy was a crudely paternalistic attempt to impose ‘rational recreation’ on the poor, this volume explores its sources in a liberal-minded social idealism common to both religious and secular conceptions of social welfare in this period. Culture, Philanthropy and the Poor in Late-Victorian London appeals to students and researchers of Victorian culture, moral reform, urbanism, adult education and philanthropy, who will be fascinated by this underrated but lively aspect of the period’s social activism.