Microhistories
Demography, Society and Culture in Rural England, 1800–1930

This 1996 book uses a local study to explore some of the more significant societal changes of the modern western world.

Barry Reay (Author)

9780521892223, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 7 November 2002

320 pages, 65 b/w illus. 50 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.47 kg

'… an impressive and refreshing combination of cultural, demographic, economic and social history in which the particularities and complexities of the locality are used to challenge firmly entrenched historical opinions … Reay's fascinating vindication of the potentials of micro-history establishes the centrality of his book in the 'new rural history'.' Social History

Microhistories: Demography, Society and Culture in Rural England, 1800–1930 uses a local study of the Blean area of Kent in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to explore some of the more significant societal changes of the modern western world. Drawing on a wide range of research techniques, including family reconstitution and oral history, Barry Reay aims to show that the implication of the micro-study can range way beyond its modest geographical and historical boundaries. Combining cultural, demographic, economic, and social history in a way rarely encountered in historical literature, Professor Reay examines a range of topics including marriage and fertility, health and mortality, the work of women and children, and illegitimacy and sexuality. This 1996 book demonstrates the challenging potentials of microhistory, and makes a central contribution to the 'new rural history'. It will be of interest to family and oral historians, as well as to demographers and sociologists.

1. Introduction: place and people
Part I. Demography: 2. Fertility
3. Health
Part II. Society: 4. Social economy
5. Class
6. Families
Part III. Cultures: 7. Sexuality
8. Literacies
9. Conclusion: microhistories.

Subject Areas: Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], British & Irish history [HBJD1]