The author argues that the working class took part in its own making and re-creates the whole-life experience of people who suffered loss of status and freedom, who underwent degradation and who yet created a culture and political conscience of great vitality.

This account of artisan and working-class society in its formative years, 1780 to 1832, aims to add a dimension to our understanding of the 19th century. The author shows how the working class took part in its own making and re-creates the whole-life experience of people who suffered loss of status and freedom, who underwent degradation and who yet created a culture and political conscience of great vitality.