The Penguin Social History of Britain - Jose Harris

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The Penguin Social History of Britain

Private Lives, Public Spirit: Britain 1870-1914

» Jose Harris

Penguin : Social History of Britain
Paperback : 31 Mar 1994

£12.99

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Synopsis

The later nineteenth century and Edwardian era, suggests Jose Harris in this stimulating book, represent a sharp break with the early years of Queen Victoria's reign. Indeed, despite the intense upheavals of two world wars, it was the beliefs, social structures and oppositional forces established between 1870 and 1914 which dominated British life right up until the 1960s.

The extended franchise created by the Reform Act of 1867; the global revolution in food production; the centralization, urban transformation and imperial connections which made London virtually 'the capital of the human race'; the birth of 'mass education, mass culture and mass leisure' - all were crucial features of an era which saw the intermingling of many trends often believed to be mutually exclusive. These and many other issues are analysed with the utmost historical subtlety in this lively, informative and richly textured survey.