The Factory Question and Industrial England, 1830}}}1860 [Hardcover]

An original examination of the factory debate, focussing on specific towns and the role of language.This engaging study addresses the continuing controversy over industrialisation, 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.This engaging study addresses the continuing controversy over industrialisation, 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.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.Part I. Voices in a Debate, c.18301860: 1. Factory slavery; 2. Humanitarian opinion and rhetorics of reform; 3. Popular common sense, official enquiry and the state; 4. The responsibilities of employers; 5. The factory imagined; Part II. FalS/