The Factory Question and Industrial England, 1830-1860

This engaging study addresses the continuing controversy over industrialization, examining different perceptions of factories and factory work. Using varied sources such as sermons, medical treatises, fictional and visual representations, Robert Gray investigates the role of language in shaping the debate on factory reform, and relates conflicts over factory legislation to specific towns. The combination of regional, cultural and textual analysis makes this book an original contribution to the study of industrial Britain in the nineteenth century.