Themes In British Social History – serie

Few things tell us more of a nation's general well-being than the development of the life-expectancy of its citizens; the rising standards of health that they come to demand; and how evenly that improvement is shared throughout society. Helen Jones examines the record of twentieth-century Britain in these respects. She has much heartening progress to record - yet stark inequalities remain. Her book is thus both a review of, and contribution to, the current debates over gender, class and ethnic inequalities in standards of health in Britain today.

John Stevenson has revised and expanded his standard but long-unobtainable work on Popular Protest and Public Order 1700-1870 in two self-sufficient volumes. The first (1700-1832) appeared in 1992; this is its keenly-awaited sequel. The greater part of it is entirely new, and brings the analysis of popular disturbance -- and its political and economic roots -- through to modern times. Tracing the theme through from the Chartists of the late 1830s to the British Union of Fascists in the late 1930s, it highlights both the changing agendas and the unchanging tensions that underlie social disorder.

Still the only general survey of the topic available, this widely-used exploration of the incidence, causes and control of crime in Early Modern England throws a vivid light on the times. It uses court archives to capture vividly the everyday lives of people who would otherwise have left little mark on the historical record. This new edition - fully updated throughout - incorporates new thinking on many issues including gender and crime; changes in punishment; and literary perspectives on crime.

This new history examines the development of the professions in England, centering on churchmen, lawyers, physicians, and teachers. Rosemary O'Day also offers a comparative perspective looking at the experience of Scotland and Ireland and Colonial Virginia.

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.

Newspapers, Politics and English Society, 1695-1855 explores the development of newspapers between the lapsing of the Printing Act in the late seventeenth century, and the removal of newspaper taxation in the mid-nineteenth century. Newspapers played a decisive role; increasingly being used to promote existing governmental policy as well as helping to articulate popular opinion; and so not only altered the manner in which politics was conducted at the centre, but also the way in which it operated at every level of English life.

An impressively thorough exploration of the changing functions, character and experience of English towns in a key age of transition which includes smaller communities as well as the larger industrialising towns. Among the issues examined are demography, social stratification, manners, religion, gender, dissent, amenities and entertainment, and the resilience of provincial culture in the face of the growing influence of London. At its heart is an authoritative study of urban politics: the structures of authority, the realities of civic administration, and the general movement for reform that climaxed in the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835.

Barry Reay investigates the domain of belief and behaviour in the everyday lives of the rural and urban communities of early modern England. He uses both primary and secondary sources to recapture, and understand, some of the shared attitudes and values to be found amongst these communities - though emphasising throughout the huge variety of their cultures, which could differ in locality, age, gender, religion and class. Deliberately selecting topics which have generated a sophisticated historiography in recent years, he focuses in turn on sexuality and gender; on orality, literacy and print; on popular religion; on witchcraft; on the ubiquity and multiple meanings of ritual; and on riot, order and law. The result is both fascinating and illuminating xxx; and offers a vivid portrait of the age.

First published in 1978.This book surveys the history of the Press as a whole in relation to the development of society - beginning with the introduction of the art of printing into England in 1476.

The history of the family has become the source of lively controversy and Ralph Houlbrooke's study has made a major contribution to the debate. Thorough investigations reveal the attitudes and aspirations of all levels of society set within economic, political and religious contexts and developments within the period.

This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date synthesis of current research on the social conditions, experiences and reactions of working people during the period 1750 - 1850.

Still the only general survey of the topic available, this widely-used exploration of the incidence, causes and control of crime in Early Modern England throws a vivid light on the times. It uses court archives to capture vividly the everyday lives of people who would otherwise have left little mark on the historical record. This new edition - fully updated throughout - incorporates new thinking on many issues including gender and crime; changes in punishment; and literary perspectives on crime.

The history of the family has become the source of lively controversy and Ralph Houlbrooke's study has made a major contribution to the debate. Thorough investigations reveal the attitudes and aspirations of all levels of society set within economic, political and religious contexts and developments within the period.

Explores the important aspects of popular cultures during the period 1550 to 1750. Barry Reay investigates the dominant beliefs and attitudes across all levels of society as well as looking at different age, gender and religious groups.

An impressively thorough exploration of the changing functions, character and experience of English towns in a key age of transition which includes smaller communities as well as the larger industrialising towns. Among the issues examined are demography, social stratification, manners, religion, gender, dissent, amenities and entertainment, and the resilience of provincial culture in the face of the growing influence of London. At its heart is an authoritative study of urban politics: the structures of authority, the realities of civic administration, and the general movement for reform that climaxed in the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835.

This lively new study covers the dramatic expansion of the press from the seventeenth century to the mid nineteenth century. Hannah Barker explores the factors behind the rise of newspapers to a major force helping to reflect and shape public opinion and altering the way in which politics operated at every level of English life. Newspapers, Politics and English Society 1695-1855 provides a unique insight into the political and social history of eighteenth and nineteenth century England as well as an important study of the history of the media.

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.

John Stevenson has revised and expanded his standard but long-unobtainable work on Popular Protest and Public Order 1700-1870 in two self-sufficient volumes. The first (1700-1832) appeared in 1992; this is its keenly-awaited sequel. The greater part of it is entirely new, and brings the analysis of popular disturbance -- and its political and economic roots -- through to modern times. Tracing the theme through from the Chartists of the late 1830s to the British Union of Fascists in the late 1930s, it highlights both the changing agendas and the unchanging tensions that underlie social disorder.

A lively social history of the roles of men and women - from workplace to household, from parish church to alehouse, from market square to marriage bed. Robert Shoemaker investigates such varied topics as crime, leisure, the theatre, religious observance, notions of morality and even changing patterns of sexual activity itself.

First published in 1978.This book surveys the history of the Press as a whole in relation to the development of society - beginning with the introduction of the art of printing into England in 1476.

This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date synthesis of current research on the social conditions, experiences and reactions of working people during the period 1750 - 1850.

Few things tell us more of a nation's general well-being than the development of the life-expectancy of its citizens; the rising standards of health that they come to demand; and how evenly that improvement is shared throughout society. Helen Jones examines the record of twentieth-century Britain in these respects. She has much heartening progress to record - yet stark inequalities remain. Her book is thus both a review of, and contribution to, the current debates over gender, class and ethnic inequalities in standards of health in Britain today.

Ranging from the middle of the eighteenth through to the end of the nineteenth century, Crime and Society in England, 1750–1900 explores the developments in policing, the courts and the penal system as England became increasingly industrialised and urbanised. Through a consideration of the difficulty of defining crime, the book presents criminal behaviour as being intrinsically tied to historical context and uses this theory as the basis for its examination of crime within English society during this period. In this fifth edition Professor Emsley explores the most recent research, including the increased focus on ethnicity, gender and cultural representations of crime, allowing students to gain a broader view of modern English society. Divided thematically, the book’s coverage includes: the varying perceptions of crime across different social groups crime in the workplace the concepts of a ‘criminal class’ and ‘professional criminals’ the developments in the courts, the police and the prosecution of criminals.Thoroughly updated to address key questions surrounding crime and society in this period, and fully equipped with illustrations, tables and charts to further highlight important aspects, Crime and Society in England, 1750–1900 is the ideal introduction for students of modern crime.

Ranging from the middle of the eighteenth through to the end of the nineteenth century, Crime and Society in England, 1750–1900 explores the developments in policing, the courts and the penal system as England became increasingly industrialised and urbanised. Through a consideration of the difficulty of defining crime, the book presents criminal behaviour as being intrinsically tied to historical context and uses this theory as the basis for its examination of crime within English society during this period. In this fifth edition Professor Emsley explores the most recent research, including the increased focus on ethnicity, gender and cultural representations of crime, allowing students to gain a broader view of modern English society. Divided thematically, the book’s coverage includes: the varying perceptions of crime across different social groups crime in the workplace the concepts of a ‘criminal class’ and ‘professional criminals’ the developments in the courts, the police and the prosecution of criminals.Thoroughly updated to address key questions surrounding crime and society in this period, and fully equipped with illustrations, tables and charts to further highlight important aspects, Crime and Society in England, 1750–1900 is the ideal introduction for students of modern crime.

A pioneering study which has become an established classic in its field, Sex, Politics and Society provides a lucid and comprehensive analysis of the transformations of British sexual life from 1800 to the present. These changes are firmly located in the wider context of British social, political and cultural life, from industrialization, urbanisation and the impact of Empire and colonisation, through the experience of economic disruption, World Wars, the establishment of the welfare state, changing patterns of gender and the emergence of new sexual identities. This book also charts the rise of both progressive and conservative social movements, including feminism, LGBT activism, and fundamentalist movements. It is a history where the past continues to live in the present, and where the present provides ever more complex, and often controversial patterns of sexual life, with sexual and gender issues at the heart of contemporary politics. Now fully revised and updated, this edition examines key new developments including: the impact of globalisation, and the digital revolution;gender nonconformity and the rise of transgender consciousness;shifting family and relational patterns, and new forms of intimacy;changes in reproductive technology including the debates on IVF and surrogacy; new discourses of equality and sexual rights for LGBT people;the irresistible rise of same-sex marriage; the weakening of the heterosexual/ homosexual binary divide and the development of new lines of concern and divisions in the politics of sexuality.Combining rich empirical detail with innovative theoretical insights, Sex, Politics and Society remains at the cutting edge of the subject, and this fourth edition will inspire and provoke a whole new generation of readers in history, sociology, social policy and critical sexuality studies.