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This series comprises contemporary or near-contemporary accounts of the political, economic and social history of the British Isles during the nineteenth century. It includes material on international diplomacy and trade, labour relations and the women's movement, developments in education and social welfare, religious emancipation, the justice system and special events including the Great Exhibition of 1851.

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240 results in Cambridge Library Collection - British and Irish History, 19th Century

Page 8 of 12

The Cambridge History of British Foreign Policy, 1783–1919
  • Volume 1, 1783–1815
  • Edited by Adolphus William Ward, George Peabody Gooch
  • Published online:
    05 May 2012
    Print publication:
    22 December 2011
    First published in:
    1922
  • With contributions from leading historians of the day, alongside chapters by politicians, journalists and lawyers, this three-volume work was the first comprehensive survey of foreign policy during the rise of Britain as a major power. Published between 1922 and 1923, it is unashamed in its aim to present 'a national point of view [with] an avowed regard for the interests, and above all for the honour of Great Britain', but is all the more illuminating for that. Including some original memoranda and documents, it takes as its starting point the Treaty of Paris ending the American War of Independence, and concludes with the Treaty of Versailles (1919). Volume 1 includes a summary of the significant issues and preoccupations of successive British governments and monarchs leading up to the appointment of Britain's first foreign secretary in 1782. European affairs dominated the period and two chapters are devoted to relations with France.

The Life of Sir Anthony Panizzi, K.C.B.
  • Late Principal Librarian of the British Museum, Senator of Italy, Etc.
  • Volume 1
  • Louis Fagan
  • Published online:
    05 May 2012
    Print publication:
    22 February 2012
    First published in:
    1880
  • Anthony Panizzi (1797–1879), born in Brescello, Italy, qualified as a lawyer, but fled to Switzerland in 1823 to avoid arrest for his political activities in support of Italian unification. He then moved to England, where he became a naturalised British subject. The patronage of Lord Brougham, the Lord Chancellor, got him a post in the British Museum Library, where he remained for thirty-five years. He was responsible for the great expansion of the library, the building of the famous round Reading Room, and the compilation of cataloguing rules which remain influential today. Volume 1 of this two-part 1880 biography by his colleague Louis Fagan (1845–1903) deals with Panizzi's early life in Italy, his arrival in England, his scholarly work as editor of Ariosto and Professor of Italian, and his early years at the British Museum. Panizzi combined his career with continuing support for the cause of Italian unity.

Recollections of Past Life
  • Henry Holland
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    20 October 2011
    First published in:
    1872
  • First published in 1872, this memoir recounts the extraordinary life of Sir Henry Holland (1788–1873), physician, and travel writer. Holland's first voyage abroad was a four-month trip to Iceland in 1810, and he went on to traverse much of the globe by boat, on horseback, and on foot. He journeyed through Europe during the Napoleonic Wars, survived earthquakes and other disasters, and was arrested three times during his travels. Holland was also well known as a society doctor in London, and this work also includes numerous references to the eminent people Holland treated in a medical capacity. He was medical attendant to Queen Caroline, wife of George IV, and was appointed physician-extraordinary to Queen Victoria in 1837. He also treated six British prime ministers. Originally written for his friends and children and printed privately, the book was revised and expanded for publication the year before Holland died.

Hodge and his Masters
  • Volume 2
  • Richard Jefferies
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    10 November 2011
    First published in:
    1880
  • Richard Jefferies (1848–87) remains one of the most thoughtful and most lyrical writers on the English countryside. He had aspirations to make a living as a novelist, but it was his short, factually based articles for The Live Stock Journal and other magazines, drawn from a wealth of knowledge of the rural community into which he had been born, which, when brought together in book form, brought him recognition (though not wealth), and which continued to be read and admired after his early death. This two-volume work, first published in 1880, contains a collection of essays first published in The Standard. Jefferies describes the daily life and circumstances of Victorian English farmers, labourers and their wives without sentimentality, illustrating daily hardships as well as idyllic pastimes, and providing an accurate and thus valuable description of a now vanished way of life.

The Royal Institution
  • Its Founder and its First Professors
  • Bence Jones
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    18 October 2011
    First published in:
    1871
  • A graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, and University College, London, Henry Bence Jones (1814–73) was a distinguished physician and chemist, as well as a chronicler of his colleagues' accomplishments. Well-known and popular in Victorian London, he was a fellow of both the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians, and counted Florence Nightingale among his friends. Written during his term as secretary to the Royal Institution, this account of the organisation's foundation and early members reflects his admiration for his professional forebears. Published in 1871, a year after his two-volume biography of Faraday (also reissued in this series), his account covers the lives of Count Rumford, Thomas Young, Humphry Davy and the troubled President Thomas Garnett. Incorporating a substantial appendix containing letters and papers pertaining to the Institution, this history provides a glimpse into the early years of one of Britain's most important and learned scientific organisations.

Tavern Anecdotes and Sayings
  • Including the Origin of Signs, and Reminiscences Connected with Taverns, Coffee-houses, Clubs, etc.
  • Edited by Charles Hindley
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1875
  • William West (1770–1854) was a bookseller and antiquarian who wrote a series of articles about his experiences in the book trade. In 1825, West published a collection of alehouse jokes, stories and trivia under the pseudonym 'One Of the Old School'. This edition is an expanded version, edited and annotated by popular writer Charles Hindley (d. 1893) and first published in 1875. A boozy, more whimsical cousin to Ambrose Bierce's 1906 The Devil's Dictionary, the book features playful definitions of tavern slang and terminology. In addition to witty stories and puns, there is also a wealth of information about the origins of pub names, the origins of alcohol and its regulation under the law. This is a dry and humorous text which still possesses the power to amuse, but also contains rich detail about contemporary culture and society, including insights on Fleet Street, the military and colonial Britain.

The Preservation of Open Spaces, and of Footpaths, and Other Rights of Way
  • A Practical Treatise on the Law of the Subject
  • Robert Hunter
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    03 October 2011
    First published in:
    1896
  • Sir Robert Hunter (1844–1913) became a leading legal authority on common land. As solicitor to the Commons Preservation Society, where he first met Octavia Hill, he was instrumental in saving Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest and the New Forest for the nation, and he developed the principles of protection upon which the National Trust would be founded. First published in 1896, and informed by a lifetime of experience, this work was devised specifically to instruct 'those who are interested in preserving the open lands of the country'. Covering iconic English landscapes ranging from cliff tops to forests and from village greens to allotments, each chapter explores real cases and the statutes that shaped their conclusions. The result is an account of the nineteenth-century legal developments that provided the foundations which both government and charitable bodies have since used in preserving the heritage - both natural and man-made - of the nation.

Working Men's Social Clubs and Educational Institutes
  • Henry Solly
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    10 November 2011
    First published in:
    1867
  • Social reformer, Chartist sympathiser, advocate of universal suffrage, and opponent of slavery, Henry Solly (1813–1903) was a man driven by the desire to stamp out inequality. As part of his mission to improve the lives of working-class people, he founded the Working Men's Club and Institute Union, becoming its first paid secretary in 1863. The Union encouraged the formation of social and educational clubs where working men could 'meet for conversation, business, and mental improvement, with the means of recreation and refreshment, free from intoxicating drinks'. His tireless campaigning led directly to the formation of the Charity Organization Society, which advocated the principle of aiding those prepared to help themselves. Published in 1867, this is Solly's vigorous manifesto for social reform based around temperance and the formation of social clubs and educational institutes for working men.

Sir Moses Montefiore
  • A Centennial Biography
  • Lucien Wolf
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    10 November 2011
    First published in:
    1884
  • Originally published in 1884 as a centennial biography for Sir Moses Montefiore (1784–1885), this book draws on official records and informal writings to create a well-rounded account of Montefiore's life as, firstly, a financier and, later, a significant Jewish community leader. In an age of frequent pogroms and anti-Semitic prejudice in Europe, Montefiore immersed himself in philanthropic works after a religious awakening in 1824 in Palestine. By encouraging reforms, lobbying for the release of wrongfully imprisoned Jews and investing in Jewish projects all over Europe, he endeavoured to improve the lives and rights of Jews globally. Wolf (1857–1930) was himself a prominent political journalist and campaigner for Jewish rights. His book not only recounts Montefiore's life and achievements, but also incorporates the history of English Jews between 750 and 1837.

Hodge and his Masters
  • Volume 1
  • Richard Jefferies
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    10 November 2011
    First published in:
    1880
  • Richard Jefferies (1848–87) remains one of the most thoughtful and most lyrical writers on the English countryside. He had aspirations to make a living as a novelist, but it was his short, factually based articles for The Live Stock Journal and other magazines, drawn from a wealth of knowledge of the rural community into which he had been born, which, when brought together in book form, brought him recognition (though not wealth), and which continued to be read and admired after his early death. This two-volume work, first published in 1880, contains a collection of essays first published in The Standard. Jefferies describes the daily life and circumstances of Victorian English farmers, labourers and their wives without sentimentality, illustrating daily hardships as well as idyllic pastimes, and providing an accurate and thus valuable description of a now vanished way of life.

Parish Law
  • Being a Digest of the Law Relating to Parishes
  • John Steer
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    13 January 2011
    First published in:
    1830
  • John Steer (fl. 1830) was a barrister and writer on legal issues best remembered for this detailed survey of the state of parish laws in the early nineteenth century. In this period the parish was the main institution of rural administration, and parishes were responsible for both ecclesiastical and civil matters, these being administered by the parish vestry. This volume, first published in 1830, contains a clear and comprehensive review of the many laws relating to the responsibilities of the parish. Organising the text according to parish institution, Steer provides a thorough description of legislation which governs all aspects of parish activities, including the parish vestry, Poor Law and church administration, and the duties of Justices of the Peace, with the legal statutes and pertinent legal cases included. This volume was published in multiple editions during the nineteenth century, and provides a rich resource for the study of contemporary life.

Life of Octavia Hill
  • As Told in her Letters
  • Octavia Hill
  • Edited by C. Edmund Maurice
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    23 December 2010
    First published in:
    1913
  • Octavia Hill (1838–1912) is today best remembered as one of the founders of the National Trust. However, her involvement in education and social reform, and particularly housing, was a large part of her work. Shocked at the poverty and overcrowding she found in London slums, she began to acquire and improve properties which would restore the tenants' dignity and self-respect. She organized a team of volunteer 'district visitors' to help the residents, and especially children, to achieve a better quality of life, including the provision of open spaces, training and recreational amenities. She was considerably influenced by Rev. F.D. Maurice, theologian and social worker, whose son, the editor of this work, married Octavia's sister Emily. The letters from which the 'life' is compiled show her extraordinary ability as an organiser, her humanity, and how much effort she put into her various activities, often overworking until she became ill.

A Shepherd's Life
  • Impressions of the South Wiltshire Downs
  • William Henry Hudson
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    13 January 2011
    First published in:
    1910
  • William Henry Hudson (1841–1922) was an Argentinian-born American naturalist and author, who moved to England in 1874, and became known for his writings on natural history, both Argentine and English, and for his work with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. He travelled the country, observing wildlife and rural life in general, and won high praise both for his work as a naturalist and for his literary style. A Shepherd's Life, published in 1910, contains his impressions of the Wiltshire Downs - the people, places, wildlife and history - which are enhanced by numerous line-drawings. The central character of the book, Caleb Bawcombe, an elderly shepherd, is fictitious, but clearly based on real people Hudson had talked to in Wiltshire, and the overall picture is of continuing closeness to nature, despite enormous changes in agricultural practice, in rural societies at the end of the nineteenth century.

Woman's Work and Woman's Culture
  • A Series of Essays
  • Edited by Josephine Butler
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    30 September 2010
    First published in:
    1869
  • First published in 1869, this influential volume contains a compilation of essays written by prominent Victorian feminists and their supporters, both men and women, discussing a variety of issues which were considered of importance to the early feminist movement. Edited by campaigner Josephine Butler (1828–1906), the contributions from activists and supporters including Frances Power Cobbe (1822–1904) and Sophia Jex-Blake (1840–1912) challenge the widespread assumption that 'women's sphere is the home', through discussion of the contemporary attitude to and condition of women. Various aspects of the inequality which women experienced, including the need for female suffrage, the ending of women's legal non-existence, and the right of women to access higher education and careers including medicine and science, are explored and advocated, illustrating the central concerns of the early feminist movement and the areas in which the movement had success in later years.

Change in the Village
  • George Sturt
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    18 November 2010
    First published in:
    1912
  • George Sturt (1863–1927) was a British wheelwright and writer who usually wrote under the pen-name George Bourne. A native of Surrey, he inherited his father's workshop in the rural village of Bourne, near Farnborough, in 1891 and began to record the daily lives and recollections of his rural family and acquaintances. This volume, first published in 1912, contains Sturt's description and analysis of social changes he saw taking place in the village where he lived. At the time of publication, Sturt's village was being transformed from a rural agricultural community into a 'residential centre' populated by wealthy outsiders from London. Sturt sensitively and perceptively describes these changes, and analyses their impact on the rural society, community and economy by comparing the contemporary situation to the 'old' rural society. This volume provides valuable insights into changes and social tensions in rural Late Victorian society and economy.

The Land and its People
  • Chapters in Rural Life and History
  • Rowland Edmund Prothero
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    13 January 2011
    First published in:
    1925
  • Rowland Prothero, Baron Ernle (1851–1937) was an author, land agent and politician, whose public career was particularly concerned with agricultural matters. During the First World War he served as President of the Board of Agriculture, organising a significant increase in agricultural production by bringing more land into cultivation and mobilising the labour of the Women's Land Army and prisoners of war. As food shipping from overseas was increasingly interrupted by enemy submarines, this was vital to the national food supply, and many of his reforms were reinstated in 1939–1945. The Land and its People was published in 1925, and examines the rural economy at a time of great change. He outlines the social and economic history of agriculture in the nineteenth century, before discussing the recent wartime policies, and how state control of agriculture and the application of scientific methods were changing British farming.

The Book of the Farm
  • Detailing the Labours of the Farmer, Farm-steward, Ploughman, Shepherd, Hedger, Cattle-man, Field-worker, and Dairy-maid
  • Volume 1
  • Henry Stephens
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    06 January 2011
    First published in:
    1844
  • Henry Stephens (1795–1874) was a farmer and later a writer on agriculture. After attending lectures on chemistry and agriculture at the University of Edinburgh he boarded with a Berwickshire farmer, George Brown, and gained experience of agricultural work. In 1820 Stephens acquired his own farm, on which he used modern and experimental farming methods. In 1837 he sold the farm, and devoted the rest of his life to writing guides to farming for the use of inexperienced farmers. These influential volumes, first published in 1842, contain Stephens' detailed descriptions of contemporary farming practices. He describes in meticulous detail all aspects of farming, including livestock care and slaughter, dairying, irrigation practices and crop culture. Arranged by season and including copious high-quality illustrations of farming equipment, these extremely popular and fascinating volumes were considered the standard work on practical Victorian agriculture. Volume 1 describes farming tasks performed in winter.

Women and Work
  • An Essay Treating on the Relation to Health and Physical Development, of the Higher Education of Girls, and the Intellectual or More Systematised Effort of Women
  • Emily Pfeiffer
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    04 November 2010
    First published in:
    1888
  • Emily Pfeiffer (1827–1890) was a British poet, writer and feminist. Best known for her poetry and sonnets, Pfeiffer also published essays and articles for numerous publications addressing the status of women in contemporary society. This volume, first published in 1888, contains Pfeiffer's analysis of social attitudes towards higher education and professional work for women. She explores in detail the social attitudes which discouraged women from attempting higher education, and describes and refutes contemporary medical opinions concerning the supposed dangers to health women faced in pursuit of it. She also presents an economic argument advocating the entry of women both to higher education and to professional employment. This volume provides a valuable analysis of contemporary attitudes to women's education during a period when the beginnings of change were accompanied by much controversy. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=pfeiem

Social Studies
  • Jane Francesca Wilde
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    04 November 2010
    First published in:
    1893
  • Lady Jane Francesca Wilde (1821–1896) is today best known as the mother of Oscar Wilde (1854–1900), but in her lifetime was famous in her own right as a fervent supporter of Irish Nationalism. After the death of her husband in 1876, Lady Wilde wrote to support herself, her other works including essays, literary criticism and travel writing. She was also a strong supporter of feminism and the campaign for female suffrage and legal rights. This volume, first published in 1893, contains a collection of essays on various topics of importance to Lady Wilde, including feminism, good manners and aesthetic clothing, with short biographies of Irish Nationalist leaders. This volume was Lady Wilde's last published work, and provides a valuable example of her writing style and the influence of the aesthetic movement on social behaviour. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=wildja

The Autobiography and Letters of Mrs M. O. W. Oliphant
  • Margaret Oliphant
  • Edited by Annie L. Walker
  • Published online:
    05 February 2012
    Print publication:
    14 July 2011
    First published in:
    1899
  • The Scots novelist and historical writer Margaret Oliphant (1828–97) wrote over a hundred works ranging from domestic fiction, to historical and regional novels, to literary criticism. She remains famous for the 'Chronicles of Carlingford', which sketch the religious and domestic politics of a provincial community, and in particular for the most popular novel in the cycle, Miss Marjoribanks (1866). Published posthumously in 1899, Oliphant's autobiography brings together fragments written in 1860, 1864, and towards the end of her life, originally written for her sons. These texts were edited by Oliphant's cousin and supplemented by selected letters - including Oliphant's correspondence with the Blackwood family, who published much of her work, and with close family members - to bridge narrative gaps. Focusing on Oliphant's personal life as a mother, widow, and prolific author, this work provides valuable insights into the condition of women in the Victorian era.

Page 8 of 12