First published in 1977. This book records the emergence of a lower middle class in late Victorian and Edwardian Britain. Victorian society had always contained a marginal middle class of shopkeepers and small businessmen, but in the closing decades of the nineteenth century the growth of white-collar salaried occupations created a new and distinctive force in the social structure. These essays look at the place of the lower middle class within British society and examine its ideals and values. Some essays concentrate on occupational groups – clerks and shopkeepers – while others focus on aspects of lower middle class life – religion, housing and jingoism. This title will be of interest to students of history.
Table of Contents
Tables; Preface; 1. The Emergence of the Lower Middle Class in Britain: A Discussion Geoffrey Crossick 2. White Collar Values and the Role of Religion Hugh McLeod 3. Society, Status and Jingoism: The Social Roots of Lower Middle Class Patriotism, 1870-1900 Richard N. Price 4. The Social Economy of Late-Victorian Clerks G. L. Anderson 5. Religion, Culture and Social Class in Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Edinburgh R. Q. Gray 6. Housing and the Lower Middle Class, 1870-1914 S. Martin Gaskell 7. The Small Shopkeeper in Industrial and Market Towns Thea Vigne and Alun Howkins; Index