Life and Labour in Rural England, 1760–1850

Major developments in rural life occurred between 1760 and 1850 and many of the greatest writers in English literature lived during this period. Factors such as the pressure of the war years, problems of adjustment during the post-war agricultural depression and the influence of rising industrialisation upon rural trades and crafts are all illustrated in this book, by contemporary literary and factual sources. Pamela Horn contrasts the views of writers like Mary Russell Mitford, Oliver Goldsmith, William Barnes, John Clare and Elisabeth Gaskell with examples from newspapers and other printed material, such as Lloyd's Evening Post, Cobbett's Political Register, and parliamentary papers. The full complexities of a new social and industrial order are reflected in the selected extracts of manuscript material, combined with published literary and factual accounts.