Family Fortunes, Revised Edition: Men and Women of the English Middle Class 1780-1850

Reviews (See all 3) Write a reviewfor this

• 
  

  Davidoff's work is an eye-opening study into the lives of the families who transformed the north of England in the late 18th and early 19th century. Focusing on a cluster of risiing non-conformist families of Birmingham, particularly Quakers involved in the potteries, Davidoff and Hall give the reader an intricate portrait of the struggles inherent in British society of the time and their impact on such institutions as education, voting rights, and property. Anyone interested in the industr... (show more)

  Davidoff's work is an eye-opening study into the lives of the families who transformed the north of England in the late 18th and early 19th century. Focusing on a cluster of risiing non-conformist families of Birmingham, particularly Quakers involved in the potteries, Davidoff and Hall give the reader an intricate portrait of the struggles inherent in British society of the time and their impact on such institutions as education, voting rights, and property. Anyone interested in the industrial North of England and the surrounding areas is advised to read this soon. Of particular interest is the updated introduction; I read this in graduate school in the early 1990s and it had already become a standard text in British social history. I'm so pleased to read how well their conclusions have stood the test of the past two decades of developments in British history. Finally, though large and seemingly dense, the narrative is highly readable. Recommended with no reservations. (show less)

   

   

  by Jennifer M. Payne on Mar 09, 2009 at 10:13PM

  Already read

  Is this review helpful? yes no
   
• 

  Sometimes when you're reading a book, you think "This is BIG!". Big in ideas, big in research, big in the strides it takes across other histories. Davidoff and Hall argue that the evangelical religious conversions and missions in the late 18th century fed directly into the lifestyles, aspirations and mindsets of the 19th century middle class in terms of their attitudes towards work, the family and women's roles within both. The book focuses on three locations in England: Birmingham... (show more)

  Sometimes when you're reading a book, you think "This is BIG!". Big in ideas, big in research, big in the strides it takes across other histories. Davidoff and Hall argue that the evangelical religious conversions and missions in the late 18th century fed directly into the lifestyles, aspirations and mindsets of the 19th century middle class in terms of their attitudes towards work, the family and women's roles within both. The book focuses on three locations in England: Birmingham and its satellite suburb Edgbaston; the market town of Colchester, and two small villages, and it is made human with the stories of families within these settings. All this is bolstered with huge research into diaries, letters, wills, memoirs etc. that both 'peopled' the argument and draws in the reader at an emotional level. Very, very good. (show less)

   

  by Janine Rizzetti on Jun 05, 2009 at 03:39AM

  Already read

  Is this review helpful? yes no
   
• See all reviews
  Write a review