The recent history of the working class is essential to any account of modern Britain: between 1880 and 1950 manual workers and their dependents made up three-quarters of the British population. In this fascinating collection of essays, Ross McKibbin examines the social and political character of the working class, as well as its relationship with the rest of society and the State. He focuses on such subjects as the relationship of work and hobbies, working-class gambling, class and poverty, and unemployment in inter-war Britain. What emerges is a coherent picture of the world in Britain's social classes.

'uniformly excellent, and should be read by anybody who is interested in the history, sociology or politics of Britain in the 20th century', London Review of Books

'splendid volume of essays . . . McKibbin has written an illuminating work which takes the vitally important step from labour to working-class history', Times Literary Supplement