First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Leisure is a key aspect of modern living. How did our ancestors experience recreation in the past, and how does this relate to the present? To answer these questions, Peter Borsay examines the history of leisure in Britain over the past 500 years, analysing elements of both continuity and change. A History of Leisure - Explores a range of pastimes, from festive culture and music to tourism and sport - Emphasises a conceptual and critical approach, rather than a simple narrative history - Covers a range of themes including economy, state, class, identities, place, space and time - Treats the constituent parts of the British Isles as a fluid and dynamic amalgam of local and national cultures and polities Authoritative and engaging, this text challenges conventional views on the history of leisure and suggests new approaches to the subject. Borsay draws upon the insights provided by a variety of disciplines alongside that of history - anthropology, the arts, geography and sociology - to offer an essential guide to this fascinating area of study.

This collection of essays examines the history of urban leisure cultures in Europe in the transition from the early modern to the modern period. The volume brings together research on a wide variety of leisure activities which are usually studied in isolation, from theatre and music culture, art exhibitions, spas and seaside resorts to sports and games, walking and cafes and restaurants. The book develops a new research agenda for the history of leisure by focusing on the complex processes of cultural transfer that were fundamental in transforming urban leisure culture from the British Isles to France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Austria and the Ottoman Empire. How did new models of organising and experiencing urban leisure pastimes 'travel' from one European region to another? Who were the main agents of cultural innovation and appropriation? How did entrepreneurs, citizens and urban authorities mediate and adapt foreign influences to local contexts? How did the increasingly 'entangled' character of European urban leisure culture impact upon the ways men and women from various classes identified with their social, cultural or (proto)national communities? Accessible and wide-ranging, this volume offers students and scholars a broad overview of the history of urban leisure culture in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe. The agenda-setting focus on transnational cultural transfer will stimulate new questions and contribute to a more integrated study of the rise of modern urban culture.

A quarter of a century ago, Professor Peter Borsay identified a specifically urban phenomenon of cultural revival that took root in the late seventeenth century, leading to the flowering of a wide range of cultural forms and the extensive remodelling of the townscape along classically inspired lines. Borsay called this the ‘English Urban Renaissance’. These essays, including Borsay’s reflective and thought-provoking revisiting of his concept, offer a wide-ranging exploration of the continuing and still developing impact of the ‘English Urban Renaissance’ and investigate the wider impact of the concept beyond England. The essays reiterate the importance of provincial towns as hubs of economic, cultural and political activity and the strength and vitality of urban culture beyond the metropolis. They trace the development of urban culture over time in the light of the concept of ‘urban renaissance’, showing how urban townscapes and cultural life were transformed throughout the long eighteenth century. Together, they establish the continuing impact and importance of Borsay’s concept, demonstrate the breadth of its influence in the UK and beyond, and point to possible areas of research for the future.

This innovative collection of essays re-examines conventional ideas of the history of childhood, exploring the child's increasing prominence in eighteenth-century discourse and the establishment of the category of age as a marker of social distinction alongside race, class and gender. While scholars often approach childhood within the context of a single nation, this collection takes a comparative approach, examining the child in British, German and French contexts and demonstrating the mutual influences between the Continent and Great Britain in the conceptualization of childhood. Covering a wide range of subjects, from scientific and educational discourses on the child and controversies over the child's legal status and leisure activities, to the child as artist and consumer, the essays shed light on well-known novels like Tristram Shandy and Tom Jones, as well as on less-familiar texts such as periodicals, medical writings, trial reports and schoolbooks. Articles on visual culture show how eighteenth-century discourses on childhood are reflected in representations of the child by illustrators and portraitists. The international group of contributors, including Peter Borsay, Patricia Crown, Bernadette Fort, Brigitte Glaser, Klaus Peter Jochum, Dorothy Johnson and Peter Sabor, represent the disciplines of history, literature and art and reflect the collection's commitment to interdisciplinarity. The volume's unique range of topics makes it essential reading for students and scholars concerned with the history and representation of childhood in eighteenth-century culture.