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Swansea’s history has been shaped by its position on the South Wales coast since its foundation in the 12th century, growing up as a trading post around the castle and exporting and importing goods from its port. From its earliest days the workforce on the ships and at the port required the town to develop supply industries, particularly food and drink. With the onset of industrialisation, a host of metalworking industries sprang up alongside the River Tawe, including a copperworks and lead works. Swansea for a time was nicknamed Copperopolis due to the vast amounts of copper that were imported around the world from Swansea. The town also became an important centre of pottery production in the 18th and 19th centuries. The last 100 years have seen massive changes in Swansea, first following destruction of large areas by aerial bombardment in World War 2 and later as the country moved away from its old industrial base and now employs large numbers in the tourism, retail and service industries, new technologies and education.Swansea at Work explores the working life of this South Wales city and its people, and the industries that have characterised it. The book will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of Swansea.

The Real George Eliot revisits the life of the groundbreaking nineteenth century novelist. Eliot was a writer who explored such important questions as the role of women in society and the education they were allowed to access, religion and the restrictions it could sometimes place on individuals, and the struggle between a person''s public and private persona. Her own private life was the cause of much speculation and notoriety. Eliot chose to ignore most of the conventions of Victorian society in order to pursue her own happiness, and her relationship with George Henry Lewes scandalized many members of ''polite'' society. Regardless of this, however, she overcame such prejudice and in later life enjoyed the company of some of the greatest thinkers and academics of the time, and this is a testament to her formidable intelligence. The fact that she is still so widely read today, is a sign of the longevity of her skills as a writer.