Harriet Martineau was a major figure in the Victorian period and a prominent speaker in a number of contemporary cultural debates, including racism, atheism, abolitionism, and the status of women. Her various novels, essays, and articles generated tremendous controversy in their reception as they forced such topics of debate into the public realm.

Caroline Roberts's The Woman and the Hour provides an engaging examination of seven of Martineau's most contentious texts: Illustrations of Political Economy (1832-34), Society in America (1837), Deerbrook (1839),...

With the expansion of the European Union and the development of supra-national governance worldwide, the importance of rigorous comparative analysis of cross-national, cross-cultural research has grown rapidly.

This volume is the first to be written by members of the international academic team involved in the groundbreaking European Social Survey (ESS) which has been designed to chart and explain the interaction between Europe's changing institutions and the attitudes, beliefs and behavior patterns of its diverse populations.

Part One looks at the background to the project and overall...

Caroline Roberts and Roger Jowell, acknowledged specialists in this area of research, have combed the literature to bring together the most comprehensive collection available. The four volumes cover key advances since serious study of the subject began, where the selection of articles and papers present the key figures, major steps forward in theory or practice and some of the most creative and ingenious methodological work in the social sciences. This set will provide a rich reference source that should appeal to academics and practitioners alike.

In addition, one essay discusses the rationale for the use of life history calendars in studying social and psychological vulnerability while another records the difficulty the authors faced when trying to set-up an online social network to collect relevant data.

'A delightful, life affirming story. I wanted to retreat to a cottage by the sea after the first chapter!' Ali McNamara When a seaside escape spells a little romance ...