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The Origins of the Idea of the Industrial Revolution

by William Hardy

186 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #06-0436; ISBN 1-4120-8680-9; US$19.11, C$21.98, EUR15.70, £10.99

The first book ever to be published on the origins of our traditional understanding of Britain's "Industrial Revolution".

Traditionally, the "Industrial Revolution" is seen as a sharp discontinuity in Britain's history, dating from circa 1760, and characterised by the meteoric rise of the cotton mills, the adoption of the modern steam engine, and the emergence of new social problems. It is a version of events that has been criticised, modified, sometimes rejected, and sometimes revived, by generations of historians.

But where did this traditional account come from in the first place? How did it become customary to date Britain's industrial transformation from the late eighteenth century, to conceptualise this transformation in national terms, to focus on the rise of the cotton factories and steam power, to link these developments with a new set of social issues, and to view such economic changes as parts of a single process, called the "Industrial Revolution"?

The Origins of the Idea of the Industrial Revolution is the first book ever to be devoted to answering these questions. Drawing on a range of primary sources, including parliamentary speeches, non-fiction books, and periodical journalism, it analyses how certain customary accounts of industrial change were generated between the 1780s and the 1840s. It then discusses how such accounts came to be integrated to create general interpretations of Britain's recent economic past, culminating with Toynbee's famous lectures on the "Industrial Revolution" during the early 1880s.

Written in an accessible and jargon-free style, the book could be of interest to anyone who is studying Britain's cultural and economic history during these years, whether at university or elsewhere.

"I think Origins is a wonderful piece… an absolutely clear and coherent exposition, I found it really helpful" (Dr Christine MacLeod, Senior Lecturer in Economic and Social History, Bristol University)

Dr Hardy has been teaching for the Open University in London for over ten years. Before this, he gained a double-first in History at Cambridge University, and a doctorate in History at Oxford. His book draws upon researches that he has been making since the late 1980s.

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