Self-Help

Self-Help was one of the great success stories of Victorian publishing. It sold twenty thousand copies in the year of its publication and nearly a quarter of a million by the end of the century. It was translated into many languages, including Japanese. In the context of the current debate about the de-moralising effects of the welfare state, Self-Help seems as relevant as the day it was published. After well-meaning politicians from all three parties have tested state welfare to destruction, Smiles offers a surer basis for a more enduring consensus.