State, Society and the Poor in Nineteenth-Century England: In Nineteenth-Century England

Author/Contributor(s):	Kidd, Alan
Publisher:	Red Globe Press
Date:	07/08/1999
Binding:	Paperback
Condition:	NEW

Today it is impossible to separate discussion of poverty from the priorities of state welfare. A hundred years ago, most working-class households avoided or coped with poverty without recourse to the state. The Poor Law after 1834 offered little more than a 'safety net' for the poorest, and much welfare was organised through charitable societies, self-help institutions and mutual-aid networks. Rather than look for the origins of modern provision, the author casts a searching light on the practices, ideology and outcomes of nineteenth-century welfare. This original and stimulating study, based upon a wealth of scholarship, is essential reading for all students of poverty and welfare. It also contains much to interest a wider readership.