Praise for the first edition: 'Royle calls on an impressive range of materials (supported by an excellent bibliography) to offer a judicious review of most of the issues currently confronted by social historians. His agenda contains both traditional and novel elements [...] all are presented with admirable clarity and balance. [...] A volume which shows an astonishing command of such a wide range of material will long prove essential reading.' Times Literary Supplement This popular work provides an in-depth historical background to issues of contemporary concern, tracing developments over the past two and a half centuries. It promotes accessibility by adopting a thematic approach, with each theme treated chronologically. Major themes are chosen partly by their importance to an understanding of the past and partly by their relevance to students of contemporary Britain - rather than by imposing current fashions in historical study on the past. Thoroughly revised, the third edition of Modern Britain reviews and brings up to date the content to take account of developments since 1997 and reconsiders emphases and interpretations in light of more recent scholarship. It incorporates new currents in historical writing on matters such as the language of class, the position of women, and the revolution worked by the Internet and mobile technologies. Modern Britain is vital reading for students of history and the social and political sciences.

Fully revised and updated, the third edition of this deservedly popular history book incorporates new currents in historical writing on matters such as the language of class, the position of women, and the revolution worked by the Internet and mobile technologies.

The Social Structure of Modern Britain, Third Edition is a comprehensive account of the social structure of modern Britain. Aspects of social structure are examined from a historical and comparative perspective. The book includes statistical information, not only on the more obvious areas like births, deaths, and immigration, but also on such lesser known (but no less important) topics as leisure behavior, income and wealth, and trends in criminal and other deviant activities. Comprised of six chapters, this book begins with an introduction to the demographic features of British society, including population trends in the twentieth century, socio-economic aspects of population, and fertility and mortality trends, along with the effects of immigration on demography. Subsequent chapters focus on the family, social class, and education as well as leisure and pleasure. The final chapter is devoted to three major mechanisms of social control in British society: religion, political institutions, and law enforcement. In particular, it assesses the extent to which religious beliefs and political attitudes exert control over people's thoughts and behavior, together with the definition of crime, the causes of criminal behavior, and the aims of a penal system. This monograph will be a useful resource for sociologists and social scientists.

British Culture explores the highly varied nature of culture and the arts in Britain today. Each chapter focuses on key themes of recent years, and gives special emphasis to outstanding artists within each area.

A new edition of the leading textbook on the economic history of Britain since industrialization. Combining the expertise of more than thirty leading historians and economists, Volume 2 tracks the development of the British economy from late nineteenth-century global dominance to its early twenty-first century position as a mid-sized player in an integrated European economy. Each chapter provides a clear guide to the major controversies in the field and students are shown how to connect historical evidence with economic theory and how to apply quantitative methods. The chapters re-examine issues of Britain's relative economic growth and decline over the 'long' twentieth century, setting the British experience within an international context, and benchmark its performance against that of its European and global competitors. Suggestions for further reading are also provided in each chapter, to help students engage thoroughly with the topics being discussed.

This is a comprehensive bibliography of all printed books, articles and standard texts on England, Ireland, Scotland, the Commonwealth and the colonies up to 1970. This handbook will serve as a useful guide to scholars, teachers at all levels, advanced students, and the general reader interested in examining the period in some depth.

Women in early modern Britain and colonial America were not the weak husband- and father-dominated characters of popular myth. Quite the reverse, strong women were the norm. They exercised considerable influence as important agents in the social, economic, religious and cultural life of their societies. This book shows how women on both sides of the Atlantic, while accepting a patriarchal system with all its advantages and disadvantages, contrived to carve out for themselves meaningful lives. Unusually it concentrates not only on the making and meaning of marriage, but also upon the partnership between men and women. It also looks at the varied roles – cultural, religious and educational – that women played both inside and outside marriage during the key period 1500-1760. Women emerge as partners, patrons, matchmakers, investors and network builders.