In the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century a variety of forces emerged which changed society in many profound and subtle ways. The Making of Modern English Society from 1850 uses the findings of recent historical and sociological research contemporary literature, and a wide range of historical sources to form a clear picture of the main patterns of the social changes which took place in this turbulent period. Jane Roebuck shows how in these hundred years the whole fabric of society altered more rapidly and radically than in ant preceding century. She gives and account of the dramatic change which occurred in all spheres of national liked. She demonstrates how the drift towards socialism, which began in the nineteenth century, gathered momentum in the twentieth and how massive social chance was on produce of the two world wars. In the field of economics, the author considers the development of the maturing but still primitive industrial economy of the mid-nineteenth century into a modern economy based on mass production and mass consumption. She also describes the change in emphasis from desire for world power to concern for domestic prosperity and welfare services.

The most comprehensive bibliography of printed books, articles, and standard texts on twentieth-century England.

In this, the second edition of A Social History of England, Francois Bédarida has added a new final chapter on the last fifteen years. The book now traces the evolution of English society from the height of the British Empire to the dawn of the single European market. Making full use of the Annales school of French historiography, Bédarida takes his inquiry beyond conventional views to penetrate the attitudes, behaviour and psychology of the British people.

This book will become the standard account of the way disease has transformed societies and of how the structuring of society, politics, the economy and the medical profession has shaped the spread and containment of epidemics.

In this wide-ranging history of modern Britain, Eric Evans surveys every aspect of the period in which Britain was transformed into the world's first industrial power. By the end of the nineteenth century, Britain was still ruled by wealthy landowners, but the world over which they presided had been utterly transformed. It was an era of revolutionary change unparalleled in Britain - yet that change was achieved without political revolution. Ranging across the developing empire, and dealing with such central institutions as the church, education, health, finance and rural and urban life, The Shaping of Modern Britain provides an unparallelled account of Britain's rise to superpower status. Particular attention is given to the Great Reform Act of 1832, and the implications of the 1867 Reform Act are assessed. The book discusses: - the growing role of the central state in domestic policy making - the emergence of the Labour party - the Great Depression - the acquisition of a vast territorial empire Comprehensive, informed and engagingly written, The Shaping of Modern Britain will be an invaluable introduction for students of this key period of British history.

First published in 1970, Modern English Society is primarily concerned with the period since the Great Exhibition of 1851. Judith Ryder and Harold Silver begin by surveying the consequences, good and ill, of industrialization, and go on to explore the changing pattern of social relationships to which it gave rise. They discuss such topics as the growth of towns and of large-scale administration, the development of welfare services, the emergence of mass politics, the mass media and mass production. They show how social attitudes, and the interpretation of historical facts are colored by our ideological views. In the second half of the book, they examine the structure and functioning of contemporary social institutions – the family, education, the economic and political systems – and assess their implications for the individual, for specific social groups, and for society as a whole. This book will be of interest to students of history and sociology.