The Death of Rural England: A Social History of the Countryside Since 1900

by Alun Howkins

Overview

Alun Howkins' panoramic survey is a social history of rural England and Wales in the twentieth century. He examines the impact of the First World War, the role of agriculture throughout the century, and the expectations of the countryside that modern urban people harbour. Howkins analyzes the role of rural England as a place for work as well as leisure, and the problems caused by these often conflicting roles.

This overview will be welcomed by anyone interested in agricultural and social history, historical geographers, and all those interested in rural affairs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134772483
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/02/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Alun Howkins is Professor of Social History at the University of Sussex. His previous publications include Poor Labouring Men (1985) and Reshaping Rural England (1992). He wrote and presented a four-part history of agriculture for BBC2, Fruitful Earth, in 1999.

Table of Contents

Introduction PART I ‘Blue remembered hills’: rural society, 1900–21 1 The countryside in a new century, 1900–14 2 The Great War and its aftermath, 1914–21 PART II The ‘locust years’, 1921–39 3 The misfortunes of agriculture, 1921–37 4 Landowners and farmers 5 The traditionalists: farm workers and domestic servants 6 New countrymen and women: workers and trippers PART III The second agricultural revolution, 1937–90 7 War and state agriculture, 1937–45 8 ‘Tractors plus chemicals’: agriculture and farming, 1945–90 PART IV What is the countryside for? Rural society, 1945–2001 9 A place to work and a place to play: incomers and outgoers, 1945–90 10 Defending the natural order? Environment and conservation, 1945–90 11 The countryside in crisis, 1990–2001

Editorial Reviews

'This is an admirable book: wide-ranging, drawing on a wide variety of sources, with the literary adding elegance to the economic... It requires no prior knowledge on the part of the reader, it avoids jargon... It will be of interest to all those concerned with the recent British past and present.' - History Today, November 2003

'[A] highly readable and challenging account ... it is required reading for historians, economists, and social anthropologists.' - Agricultural History Review

'This well-researched volume ... give[s] a complete picture of changing rural life.' -History - The Journal of the Historical Association

From the Publisher