The Industrial Revolution

The period c. 1760 to 1830 used to be seen as a watershed in the transition to modern industrial society. More recently historians have disputed the existence of fundamental change in economic, social or political life at this time. The British industrial revolution is quietly disappearing from our history books. Pat Hudson challenges this development arguing that the process of revision has gone too far: continuity has been emphasized at the expense of change and many historically unique features of the economy and society of the period have been unjustly neglected. This new edition retains the successful structure of the highly praised original but extends the author's defence of the dynamism of the period with greater coverage of social and cultural changes, trust and networks as well as innovation, trading and financial developments. The text is fully updated to take account of major new research of the past decade.