Bøger i Cambridge Library Collection - British and Irish History, 19th Century serien

Daughter of a Unitarian minister and schoolmaster, the penal reformer and educationist Mary Carpenter (1807-77) grew up in a pious family with a strong sense of obligation to those who were less fortunate. Moved by the appalling circumstances of destitute children in Bristol, she established her first ragged school in 1846. In her bid to improve the difficult lives of juvenile delinquents, her enlightened philosophy was one of rehabilitation rather than retribution, emphasising the importance of giving children a sense of self-worth. These views form the basis of this landmark work, first published in 1851. Marshalling a range of evidence in support of her argument, Carpenter highlights the need for radical change in the treatment of young offenders. Her lobbying bore fruit in England with the passage of the Youthful Offenders Act (1854), described as 'the Magna Carta of the neglected child'.

The author and politician Rowland Edmund Prothero (1851-1937), an expert on British agricultural history, held the post of President of the Board of Agriculture in David Lloyd George's cabinet between 1916 and 1919. In 1885 he had written an article for the Quarterly Review in which he traced the progress of English agriculture since the middle ages. This was expanded into a book, published in 1888 as The Pioneers and Progress of English Farming. Then, in 1912, Prothero revised and greatly expanded it under its current title, bringing the story up to date. This classic work charts the development of farming from the medieval manorial system up to the Corn Laws in the nineteenth century and the agricultural crises that confronted administrators at the beginning of the twentieth. The appendices include a chronological list of agricultural writers as well as data on the Corn Laws, tithes, acreage and wages.

Margaret Mary Dilke (1857-1914) was a leading campaigner for female suffrage. In 1878 she became an active member of the National Society for Women's Suffrage and later was appointed to its executive committee. After the society split in 1888, she joined the Central National Society for Women's Suffrage and was appointed treasurer in 1896. This volume, first published in 1885 as part of Charles Buxton's 'The Imperial Parliament' series, contains Dilke's response to some of the major contemporary anti-suffrage arguments. Women's suffrage is introduced in its contemporary political context. Dilke also discusses medical assertions such as that women were mentally and physically inferior to men, and the idea that female suffrage would erode women's commitment to marriage and family life. This fascinating volume succinctly describes and rejects the main contemporary anti-suffrage arguments, illustrating the connections between the issue of female suffrage and other areas of contemporary society.

Born in Ancoats, a deprived industrial area of Manchester, Charles Rowley (1839-1933) witnessed what he saw as the degeneration of inner-city life in the second half of the nineteenth century. His family's picture-framing business, combined with his love of culture, brought him into contact with the ideas and personalities associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, notably William Morris. As a social reformer, Rowley was suspicious of organised charity and its tendency to patronise those it tried to support. Through a number of progressive initiatives, he laboured to bring art and culture to working people: the Ancoats Brotherhood, which organised lectures and reading groups, was among the many projects he fostered. First published in 1911, these well-illustrated memoirs present a thoughtful portrait of Rowley's experiences and enthusiasms, touching upon his interactions with such artists as Ford Madox Brown, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt.

The Irish scientist John Ball (1818-89), active in the study of natural history and glaciology, held fellowships of both the Royal Society and the Linnean Society. When the Irish Potato Famine took hold, Ball returned from European travel and study intent on helping his countrymen. In 1846 he became an assistant poor law commissioner, and witnessed the deepening crisis at first hand. The first edition of this pamphlet was published in 1847. Reissued here is the second edition of 1849, the year when Ball assumed the more senior office of second poor law commissioner. He uses the pamphlet to argue passionately for the urgent revision of government legislation relating to poor relief, the public works programme, land improvement, labour and taxation, which he felt had exacerbated matters. He also believed the famine had been forgotten by the English and calls for them to show more sympathy towards the Irish.

Walter Bagehot (1826-77), the influential political and economic essayist, wrote a number of books that became standards in their respective fields. He attended University College, London, where he studied mathematics and gained a master's degree in intellectual and moral philosophy. He was called to the bar, but instead chose a career in his father's banking business. He wrote widely on literature, economics and politics, co-founding the National Review in 1855. He became editor-in-chief of The Economist in 1860 and remained in that post until his death. This work, published originally in 1873 and described by J. M. Keynes as 'an undying classic', is a masterpiece of economics. It explains the world of finance and banking, concentrating on crisis management, and its ideas are as relevant today as ever, especially in the face of the global financial crisis that emerged in 2007.

Andrew Reed (1787-1862) was a Congregational minister, an energetic philanthropist and a highly successful fundraiser. He began to study theology at Hackney Academy in 1807 and was ordained minister in 1811, serving in this role until 1861. He helped to found numerous charitable institutions, most notably the London Orphan Asylum, the Asylum for Fatherless Children, the Asylum for Idiots, the Infant Orphan Asylum, and the Hospital for Incurables. In addition to his charitable work, he found time to write. He compiled a hymn book, and published sermons, devotional books and an account of his visit to America in 1834, when he received a Doctorate of Divinity from Yale. This biography of Reed, compiled by two of his sons, was first published in 1863. It describes his many achievements, using selections from Reed's own journals, and includes a list of his publications.

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.

President of the Royal College of Physicians from 1844 until his death, John Ayrton Paris (1785-1856) wrote chiefly on medical topics, yet he also devoted time to the study of science and natural history. He served as physician to the Penzance Dispensary between 1813 and 1817, during which time he helped to establish what became the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall. First published anonymously in 1816, and reissued here in the second edition of 1824, this work explores the landscapes and natural history of the western part of Cornwall. Presented as a series of 'excursions', the guide takes in locations such as St Michael's Mount and the Lizard, also covering the rich mining districts at Redruth and St Just, and discussing local customs, the Cornish language and the health-giving climate. Several of Paris's medical and biographical works are also reissued in this series, including his life of the Cornish chemist Sir Humphry Davy.

Pierce Egan (1772-1849) was born near London and lived in the area his whole life. He was a famous sports reporter and writer on popular culture. His first book, Boxiana, was a collection of articles about boxing. It was a huge success and established Egan's reputation for wit and sporting knowledge. He is probably best remembered today as the creator of Corinthian Tom and Jerry Hawthorn ('Tom and Jerry'). Published in 1821 and beautifully illustrated by the Cruikshank brothers, this book is the original collection of Tom and Jerry's riotous adventures through Regency London. Its satirical humour and trademark use of current slang made it an overnight success, spawning many imitators and appearing in numerous editions. It was translated into French and inspired a number of successful stage plays that delighted audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. More recently, in 2006, an adaptation appeared on BBC Radio.

Henry B. Wheatley (1838-1917) was a prolific writer, an energetic founder of societies, a keen student of London history, and a first-rate bibliographer. He was also an expert indexer, and because of his contributions to the subject he is sometimes called the 'father of British indexing'. He had a wide range of interests and founded the Samuel Pepys Club, the Library Association (now CILIP) and the Early English Text Society. He wrote two classics of indexing, What Is an Index? and How to Make an Index, as well as a three-volume history of London, called London Past and Present. (All of these titles are now available in the Cambridge Library Collection.) Published in 1870, this book is his historical journey through Piccadilly and Pall Mall, the 'court end of London'. It explores the characters, the buildings and the institutions that make up this history-packed area of the city.

C. Wentworth Dilke (1810-69), an influential figure at the Society of Arts, was one of the key organisers of the Great Exhibition of 1851. He played a leading part in planning the event and the catalogue, overseeing the installation of exhibits and managing the PR. The exhibition generated an enormous number of publications, official and unofficial, both in Britain and abroad, ranging from vistors' guides to London and descriptions of individual exhibits to discussions about the long-term future of the Crystal Palace, together with essays, sermons and poems. Dilke acquired several hundred such books and pamphlets, in various languages, and in 1855 privately published this catalogue of his collection, noting that it omits 'mere trade pamphlets' and that his 'departments' of relevant music and engravings are not comprehensive. Alphabetically organised and thoroughly cross-referenced, Dilke's catalogue remains an invaluable research resource for those studying the Great Exhibition and its global impact.

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.

George Baden-Powell, KCMG (1847-98), graduated from Balliol College, Oxford, before studying at the Inner Temple in London. After a varied career as a commissioner in Victoria in Australia, the West Indies, Malta and Canada, he became the MP for Liverpool Kirkdale in 1885. He also found time to observe the total solar eclipse of 1896 in the Arctic, and co-write a paper about it for the Royal Society. He was a passionate advocate of free trade within the British Empire, and wrote extensively to support the cause. First published in 1882, this classic work on economics sets out Baden-Powell's case for imperial free trade. In the first chapter he sets out his arguments; the rest of the book is devoted to presenting his evidence and comparing the relative merits of protectionist and free trade economies around the world.

James Silk Buckingham (1786-1855) was a Cornish-born traveller and writer. As a member of Parliament in the 1830s he campaigned for reforms in the army and navy as well as for the temperance movement. He travelled widely to the Middle East, Israel and America, wrote travel books and also founded a number of journals. One of these was The Athenaeum, a weekly London periodical covering a wide range of topics from literature to popular science. In this work, published in 1849, Buckingham names seven evils threatening contemporary society (ranging from ignorance from intemperance to war and competition), proposes a number of economic reforms that primarily target the existing taxation system, and pleads for a new Reform Bill. Buckingham develops in great detail his vision of a model town and the community inhabiting it, and offers his thoughts on how a such city should be planned.

This detailed guide to the model tenement building displayed at Edinburgh's International Exhibition of Industry Science and Art in 1886 was first published in that year. A prominent figure in Scottish architecture and engineering, Sir James Gowans (1821-90) designed and built railways, roads, and stone houses during his long career, including a model village in West Lothian named Gowanbank. His intention in designing tenement buildings was to produce a standardised model that would make homes more affordable. This short book considers the tenement designs, including the situation of staircases, drainage, materials, and the mode of construction. Gowans' book also features chapters on the Prince Albert Victor Sundial, built to commemorate the opening of the exhibition by the prince, the Memorial Mason's pillars erected in Edinburgh, and the Electric Tramway. Gowans was made Lord Dean of Guild of the city of Edinburgh in 1885.

James Neild (1744-1814), penal reformer and philanthropist, first became interested in the welfare of prisoners after visiting a friend jailed for debt. He went on to investigate prisons across Britain, France, Flanders, and Germany, fundraising to release those incarcerated for petty debt. In 1772 he helped establish the Society for the Relief and Discharge of Persons Imprisoned for Small Debts (the Thatched House Society), which succeeded in freeing over 16,000 debtors. Published in 1812, this work records the findings of Neild's thorough survey of debtors' prisons in Britain, and also discusses those imprisoned for other minor criminal offences. Neild exposes the harsh sentences assigned to debtors and petty criminals, using this evidence to support his campaign to improve the conditions of the prisoners and to stop imprisonment for debt. His efforts to improve the conditions of prisoners eventually influenced parliamentary reforms of the penal system.

First published in 1868, this book provides an intriguing memoir of Irish culture and society during and after the Potato Famine. W. Steuart Trench (1808-72) studied agriculture with a view to becoming a land agent: having taken on this role for the Shirley estate in Monaghan in 1843, he eventually managed Irish estates for the Marquess of Lansdowne in County Kerry, for the Marquess of Bath and for Lord Digby. His book, a series of stories of everyday (and some extraordinary) events in nineteenth-century Ireland, purports to give the English public a clear and truthful account of the daily occurrences and difficulties experienced by an Irish landlord and his agent. The book also contains detailed appendix material, including letters describing the devastating effects of the famine (1845-52). The work was immediately successful, with five reprintings (of which this reissue is the third) within twelve months of publication.

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.

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.

This interesting piece of social history, published in 1899, appears to have been the first non-fiction work by Teresa Praga (d.1920), the wife of a portrait painter and miniaturist, who also published novels. Her later output included books on cookery, housekeeping and dress, many with the emphasis on 'easy' (Easy French Sweets for English Cooks, for example). Like Jane Panton (several of whose books on lifestyle are also reissued in this series), Praga is writing for middle-class wives with not much money, and aspirations to gracious living. Appearances (subtitled How to Keep Them Up on a Limited Income) is presented as autobiography: how a newly married woman, on a very restricted income but used to - and liking - being 'waited on', manages a house. With detailed descriptions of finances, menus, the duties of servants, and other minutiae, this is a light-hearted account of late Victorian housekeeping.

Caroline Norton (1808-77), author and law reform campaigner, was the granddaughter of the playwright Sheridan and soprano Elizabeth Linley. Her disastrous, violent marriage in 1827 to the financially irresponsible Tory MP and barrister George Norton led her to seek escape in writing poetry. Anonymous autobiographical novels followed, exploring women's powerlessness in marriage, together with regular contributions to periodicals such as Macmillan's Magazine. Flamboyant, intelligent and temperamental, she secured her place in literary society, numbering Disraeli and Dickens among her friends. Ever jealous, her husband accused her of adultery with Lord Melbourne, but the case was unproven. In revenge, he refused his wife access to their sons, and it was this act which led to her determined campaign to improve the rights of women in marriage and divorce. This work, first published anonymously in 1837, was instrumental in the subsequent passing of the Custody of Infants Act (1839).

Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge, MP and Postmaster General, Henry Fawcett (1833-84) was a radical supporter of both feminism and class equality. He campaigned for the widening of access to universities and the preservation of public open spaces, and oversaw the development of the telephone network. This biography, first published in 1885, was written by Leslie Stephen (1832-1904), Fawcett's contemporary at Cambridge, who later helped found the Dictionary of National Biography. Although their ideologies diverged later in their careers, Stephen and Fawcett's friendship lasted for over thirty years. Stephen, who was uncertain at their first encounter whether Fawcett was a Cambridge undergraduate or a farmer, gives a lively account of his friend's years at Cambridge and his successful academic and parliamentary career, achieved despite his blindness (the result of an accident in 1858). The book provides fascinating insights into the life of this often overlooked but remarkable politician.

Who was James Mill (1773-1836)? What was his legacy to British society and culture? The achievement of this Scottish-born political philosopher, economist and historian has been overshadowed by that of his son, John Stuart Mill, but as Alexander Bain (1818-1903), himself a philosopher and empiricist, shows in this biography, published in 1882, Mill's range of interests was remarkable. He wrote on education and psychology, and developed theories on political economy and the need for parliamentary reform. Mill was also critical of the history of British colonialism (his three-volume History of India is reissued in this series), and argued for religious tolerance, as well as collaborating with Jeremy Bentham as a proponent of utilitarianism, the philosophy which sought 'the greatest happiness of the greater number'. Bain places the facts of Mill's life in the context of the remarkable changes undergone by British society and culture in this period.

The astronomer John Lee (1783-66) inherited Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire in 1827. During its colourful history, the mansion had notably been occupied between 1809 and 1814 by the exiled court of Louis XVIII. Lee turned the house into something of a museum for his antiquarian and scientific interests, constructing an observatory to the design of the his close friend William Henry Smyth (1788-1865), after whom Lee named a lunar sea. A naval officer, Smyth had helped to found the Royal Geographical Society in 1830. His Sidereal Chromatics (1864) and The Sailor's Word-Book (1867) are also reissued in this series. This charming history and description of Hartwell, its grounds, buildings and contents, appeared in two volumes between 1851 and 1864, illuminating especially the practice of contemporary astronomy. Illustrated throughout, the first volume (1851) includes coverage relating to the locality, the lords of the manor, the collected antiquities and the observatory.

The astronomer John Lee (1783-66) inherited Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire in 1827. During its colourful history, the mansion had notably been occupied between 1809 and 1814 by the exiled court of Louis XVIII. Lee turned the house into something of a museum for his antiquarian and scientific interests, constructing an observatory to the design of the his close friend William Henry Smyth (1788-1865), after whom Lee named a lunar sea. A naval officer, Smyth had helped to found the Royal Geographical Society in 1830. His Sidereal Chromatics (1864) and The Sailor's Word-Book (1867) are also reissued in this series. This charming history and description of Hartwell, its grounds, buildings and contents, appeared in two volumes between 1851 and 1864, illuminating especially the practice of contemporary astronomy. Illustrated throughout, the second volume (1864) serves as a supplement, recording Smyth's researches in the years since the first volume went to press.

H. Rider Haggard (1856-1925) is best known as the successful writer of adventure stories with exotic backgrounds such as King Solomon's Mines. However, he also served on a number of royal commissions, and in managing his wife's Norfolk estate became a recognised expert on agricultural matters. His A Farmer's Year (1898, also reissued in this series), recounts the work of the farm, together with observations on rural life and the state of agriculture in general. In 1905 he published this work, a diary of his garden in 1903. After an introductory chapter (with a plan) describing the the garden, orchard and glasshouses, and the staff he employed, the diary begins, relating the tasks and experiences of the year, from spraying against red spider mite in January to decorating the house with greenery on Christmas Eve. This beautifully written book reveals the horticultural taste and practice of the Edwardian era.

Originally written for private circulation among the Royal Family, this book, written by Lieutenant-General Charles Grey (1804-70), was first published in 1867. It details Prince Albert's life from his birth in 1819 through to his wedding to Queen Victoria and the first year of their married life. The Queen commissioned Grey, who had been secretary to both Albert and herself, as her husband's biographer, and the book was granted a wider publication, so that all who read it would 'tend to a better and higher appreciation of Prince Albert's great character'. Sourced from letters and memoranda, the book traces the development of Albert from an intelligent and gentle boy to the intellectual and moral compass of a nation. It records Albert's first visits to England, the wedding, his love for his adopted country and life in London, and includes details such as an attempted assassination of the Queen.

Maria Eliza Rundell (1745-1828) was a phenomenally successful cookery writer. Originally compiled for her daughters, the first edition of this work was published in 1806, with improved and illustrated editions following regularly. It became one of publisher John Murray's chief assets, but after legal disputes between author and publisher over the profits, Rundell transferred the work to Longman in 1821; by 1849 it had reached its 73rd edition. The 1827 edition is reissued here. The book was the first manual of household management which aimed at completeness, including advice on servants, shopping with economy and attention to seasonal food, hygiene, and nutrition for children and invalids. It was much imitated, although apparently not used as a source by Mrs Beeton. It is surprisingly cosmopolitan, including French, German, Turkish and Indian recipes, and is a fascinating source for social historians on standards of living and fashions in food and entertaining.

The agrarian interests of politician William Hillier Onslow (1853-1911), fourth earl of Onslow, led to his briefly becoming a cabinet minister as president of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries in 1903-5, but he became convinced that the government of the day took no real interest in farming and food - to the extent that in 1914, sixty per cent of British food was imported. He had already decided that English landowners should, at a time of agricultural depression, help the labourers on their estates by making allotments of land available to them, and he published this work in 1886, in the hope of achieving a voluntary extension of the allotment system. It provides a historical context, examines in detail the current situation, and discusses the pros and cons of voluntary versus compulsory ceding of land, while providing insights into the development of the allotment movement.