Bringing together subjects such as culture, religion, morals, politics, economics, and mentality, Perkin presents and applies a holistic concept of social history in the tradition of great historians of the past.

In this classic text of social history, Harold Perkin explores the emergence of a new form of class society in Victorian England, which differed radically from early modern society. He locates the origins of the modern English class system in the Industrial Revolution, the impact of which went beyond economy and technology, and changed the ways of living and perceptions of...

Challenging accepted paradigms based on class analysis, this volume lays out a controversial framework for the study of British society. Harold Perkin argues that the non-capitalist professional class represents a new principle of social organization based on trained expertise and meritocracy, a forgotten middle class conveniently overlooked by classical social theorists.