Pinchbeck looks at life in agrarian society, the transition to industrialization, and specific industries employing women in what is still one of the best discussions of the impact of industrialization on women's lives.

"To what extent has the British economy declined compared to its competitors and what are the underlying reasons for this decline? Nicholas Crafts, one of the world's foremost economic historians, tackles these questions in a major new account of Britain's long-run economic performance. He argues that history matters in interpreting current economic performance, because the present is always conditioned by what went before. Bringing together ideas...