The Slump

Description

'One of the most relentlessly brilliant studies of twentieth-century Britain ... these young historians have found a marvellous theme and stuck to it. Theirs is the glory!'  Professor Arthur Marwick, History

The 1930s - remembered as the decade of dole queues and hunger marches, mass unemployment, the means test, and the rise of fascism - also saw the development of new industries, the growth of comfortable suburbia, and rising standards of living for many. In Britain in the Depression, the authors look behind the legends for an objective - and timely - reassessment, as Britain again struggles with the economic and spiritual ills of recession and unemployment.

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements

Introduction to the New Edition

1. Myth and Reality: Britain in the 1930s
2. The Dawn of Affluence
3. The Hungry Thirties
4. The Problem of Unemployment
5. The Impact of Unemployment
6. The General Election of 1931
7. Politics and the People, 1931-5
8. The Communist Party
9. The National Unemployed Workers' Movement
10. Hunger Marches and Demonstrations
11. The Fascist Challenge
12. The Government and Public Order
13. The General Election of 1935
14. The Revolution That Never Was

15. Afterword: Back to the Thirties?

Notes

Bibliography

Features

• Contains a new introduction, framing the historical narrative in the light of recent scholarship and discussing relevant new research
• A substantial final chapter which places the 1930s in historical context and highlights parallels and similarities to the current crisis and others that have occurred since the '30s.
• Statistical tables integrated throughout the text
• Illustrations in a plate section
• A revised and extended bibliography to include major new publications since the last edition