The first monograph on this topic since 1961, this book provides an innovative interpretation of the Friendly Societies in Britain from the perspectives on social, gender and political history. It establishes the central role of the Friendly Societies in the political activism of British workers, changing understandings of masculinity and femininity, the ritualised expression of social tensions and the origins of the welfare state.

Radicalized in a brutal era of repeated violence against hard-working men and women, Mother Jones criss-crossed the country to demand higher wages and safer working conditions. This work recounts her story explaining the dramatic times through which she lived and to which she contributed so much.