The Workhouse

Sorry, this product is not currently available to order

Here are some other products you might consider...

The Workhouse

By:

Norman Longmate

Format:

Paperback / softback

Show Hide Adult Content

Unavailable

Sorry, this product is not currently available to order

Description

Everyone has heard of the workhouse. But exactly what was it? Who went there? And how did an institution so universally hated come to be set up? This title tells the story from its first beginnings in Elizabethan times until the final demise of "the union" in the 1940s. The book concentrates, however, on the Victorian workshouse in the years of its tarnished glory. It describes the circumstances which in the 1830s led to the opening of 600 new workhouses, against astonishingly little effective oposition, and it explains why radicals like Francis Place and humane reformers like Lord Brougham supported the New Poor Law, while a handful of Tories like Disraeli and arch-reactionaries like Colonel Sibthorpe fought against it. It records riots, the protests, the pleadings, with which the poor challenged their virtual enslavement, and the misery of their daily life when they were finally incarcerated within the workhouse walls. What did gruel taste like? Why was the workhouse uniform so uncomfortable to wear? How did it feel to pound bones all day, or grind corn or scrub floors? How was Christmas Day in the workhouse celebrated in reality? Norman Longmate has answered these and many more questions. All the essential facts - of legislation passed and numbers admitted are presented, illustrated by a wealth of anecdote, which reveals in human terms the meaning of the poor laws and regulations.

Author Biography:

Norman Longmate was born in Berkshire, and educated at Christ's Hospital. After war service he read modern history at Worcester College, Oxford. He subsequently worked as a journalist in Fleet Street, as a producer of history programmes for the BBC, and for the BBC Secretariat. In 1981 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and in 1983 he left the BBC to become a full-time writer. He has written more than twenty books, mainly on the Second World War and on Victorian social history. He has frequently been employed as an historical adviser for film and television.

Release date NZ

June 5th, 2003

Author

Norman Longmate

Audience

General (US: Trade)

Illustrations

Pages

336

Dimensions

153x234x25

ISBN-13

9780712606370

Product ID

1744199

Customer reviews

Nobody has reviewed this product yet. You could be the first!

Write a Review

Marketplace listings

There are no Marketplace listings available for this product currently.
Already own it? Create a free listing and pay just 9% commission when it sells!

Sell Yours Here

Get free delivery, exclusive deals, and more^*

Non-Fiction Books:

The Workhouse

Sorry, this product is not currently available to order

The Workhouse

By:

Format:

Description

Author Biography:

Customer reviews

Marketplace listings

Help & options

Filed under...

Get free delivery, exclusive deals, and more*

The Workhouse

Sorry, this product is not currently available to order

Author Biography:

Get free delivery, exclusive deals, and more^*