New Book by PRIZE-WINNING HISTORIAN SUSAN WHYMAN
The Useful Knowledge of William Hutton
Culture and Industry in Eighteenth-Century Birmingham
- Tells the story of the rapid rise of a self-taught workman and of the city of Birmingham during the two major events of the eighteenth century—the Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment
- Plunges readers into a hidden provincial world marked by literacy, bookshops, and the spread of useful knowledge We see that ordinary people read history and wrote poetry, whilst they grappled with the effects of economic change
- Boldly claims that an understanding of the Industrial Revolution requires engaging with the figure of the 'rough diamond', a person of worth and character, but lacking in manners, education, and refinement
- Newly discovered memoirs reveal social conflict and relationships in rare detail.
- Addresses problems of social mobility, income inequality, and breathtaking technological change that perplex us today.
Whyman's work 'stimulates and reminds us that, when all is said and done, history should be about people .... It also demonstrates how very readable history can and should be'. Rosemary O'Day, Journal of British Studies