The Factory Question and Industrial England, 1830–1860

An original examination of the factory debate, focussing on specific towns and the role of language.

Robert Gray (Author)

9780521892926, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 4 April 2002

268 pages, 6 b/w illus. 1 map
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.437 kg

"...an important contribution to a series of ongoing debates over British industrial formation. ...it will be regarded as a path-breaking study. Gray has provided a rich picture of the linguistic complexities of the creation of new industrial indentities..." Martin Hewitt, Victorian Studies

The Factory Question and Industrial England addresses the continuing controversy over industrialisation. It investigates different perceptions of the 'factory system' either as a threat or a promise, and the contested meanings of waged work in industry. Making use of a great variety of sources, such as sermons, medical treatises, fictional and visual representations, Robert Gray places the languages of debate in their cultural contexts, paying particular attention to the shifting constructions of class and gender in the rhetoric of reform, and the ambiguities and tensions inherent in 'protective' legislation. He then relates patterns of conflict over factory legislation to the features of specific industrial towns. The combination of regional, cultural and textual analysis makes this book a coherent and original contribution to the study of industrial Britain in the nineteenth century.

Part I. Voices in a Debate, c.1830–1860: 1. Factory slavery
2. Humanitarian opinion and rhetorics of reform
3. Popular common sense, official enquiry and the state
4. The responsibilities of employers
5. The factory imagined
Part II. Factory Regulation, c.1840–1860: 6. Enforcement, resistance and compliance
7. The ten-hour day
8. A reformed factory system?
Conclusion.

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