The Worst Poverty: A History of Debt and Debtors

Provides insight into the behavior of the principals involved in the problem of debt in Britain: buyer-debtor & seller-creditor, money-borrower & money-lender, banker, mortgagor, pawnbroker -- & those on the sidelines who set the rules & offer advice such as lawmakers, preachers, letter writers, tract writers, playwrights & authors. The book tells the story through the 17th, 18th & 19th cent. For some, debt was a way of life, for others, a state to be avoided at all costs; & for some, to be ignored until there was no one who would save the debtor. Recently, over-indebtedness has often become the only way out, with banks, building soc. & stores only too eager to provide easy credit in an attempt to counteract inflation & encourage the customer to spend. Illus.