Private Lives, Public Spirit: A Social History of Britain 1870-1914

This is a lively and original new study of the social history of Britain between 1870 and 1914, cogently organized and well written. Harris, while not underestimating the impact of the First World War, demonstrates that many of the far-reaching social changes apparent afterwards actually had their origins in the 1870s and 1880s. She identifies important trends and movements, providing a valuable overview of late Victorian and Edwardian society. At the same time, she conveys a sense of idosyncrasy, nuance, and diversity. While the period has often been regarded as one of great moral and political certainty, Harris reveals the doubts of its contemporaries. She shows that in many respects Great Britain at this period was a ramshackle and amorphous society, characterized by a myriad contradictory opinions. A vivid and compelling depiction of Britain in the period before the First World War, this book makes absorbing reading.