The Children History Forgot: Young Workers of the Industrial Age - Hardcover

Sue Wilkes

9780709089728: The Children History Forgot: Young Workers of the Industrial Age

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0709089724 ISBN 13: 9780709089728

Publisher: Robert Hale Ltd, 2011

Once upon a time, Britain forged a mighty industrial empire - built with the blood, sweat and tears of society's most vulnerable members. Children History Forgot explores young people's working lives during the late Georgian and Victorian eras, when boys and girls created almost every item in our ancestors' homes: bricks, glass, cutlery, candles, lace, cotton and more. All over Britain, from the coal mines of Wales to the flax mills of Ireland, children toiled in factories and workshops, underground and on the land. A chosen few like Samuel Slater began new lives in America but thousands of others have been forgotten by history: killed by unguarded machinery or poisoned by metal or pottery dust. Many were conscript workers: pauper apprentices trapped by their poverty. Sue Wilkes tells the story of the long, heartbreaking fight for reform. The story of men like Lord Shaftesbury, Richard Oastler and the tireless factory inspectors who battled, not only to improve youngsters' working conditions and opportunities for education, but also to change society's attitudes towards childhood. Children History Forgot takes a fresh look at the true cost of Britain's industrial success story.

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About the Author:

Sue Wilkes read Physics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Her first book Narrow Windows, Narrow Lives recreated Lancashire life during the Industrial Revolution. Her second book Regency Cheshire, also published by Robert Hale, told the story of county life in the age of Jane Austen. A creative writing tutor and member of the Society of Authors, Sue regularly contributes to history magazines in the UK and USA. She was born in Lancashire and has lived in Cheshire with her husband and two children since 1981.

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