Immigration, ethnicity, multiculturalism and racism have become part of daily discourse in Britain in recent decades yet, far from being new, these phenomena have characterised British life since the 19^th century. While the numbers of immigrants increased after the Second World War, groups such as the Irish, Germans and East European Jews have been arriving, settling and impacting on British society from the Victorian period onwards.

In this comprehensive and fascinating account, Panikos Panayi examines immigration as an ongoing process in which ethnic communities evolve...