This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This book is an investigation of youth and adolescence in pre-industrial England. It concentrates on young people from the middle or lower groups of society, who, between 1500 and 1800, left home to work as apprentices, agricultural labourers or in domestic service. Drawing on municipal, ecclesiastical and parish records, and over 70 autobiographies, Ben-Amos focusses on aspects of youth as they related to maturation: the separation of adolescents from their parents; their working lives and relationships with their employers or masters and mistresses; the relative independence and autonomy exercised by younger women; the role of the young in religious affairs; and the question of whether there was such as thing as a youth subculture.

Thomas Mohlmann is a poet who works for the The Dutch Foundation for Literature in Amsterdam. --

'A Flower Wedding: Described by Two Wallflowers' by Walter Crane is an exquisitely illustrated poem that transports readers to a joyous wedding celebration in 1905. Immerse yourself in the charming tale of Lad's Love and Miss Meadow Sweet as their love blossoms amidst a garden filled with a kaleidoscope of flowers. Crane's masterful artistry brings each page to life, with intricate illustrations capturing the essence of every bloom.