Child Labour in Britain, 1750-1870 (Social History in Perspective)

Peter Kirby's analytical survey of child labor during the industrial revolution asserts that the concentration by some historians and social commentators upon small numbers of industrially-employed children has diverted attention from the important role of the working child within the context of the family, the labor market and the state. Kirby convincingly argues that during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, child labor provided an invaluable contribution both to economic growth and to the incomes of working-class households. The book also discusses the major issues involved in the study of children's employment.