English Society in the Eighteenth Century, Second Edition (The Penguin Social History of Britain) (Paperback)

by Roy Porter (Author) "CULTURAL seismology - the attempt to record the shifts and displacements of sensibility that regularly occur in the history of art and literature and thought..." (more)
Key Phrases: middling men, Arthur Young, Georgian England, Horace Walpole (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This is a portrait of 18th century England, from its princes to its paupers, from its metropolis to its smallest hamlet. The topics covered include - diet, housing, prisons, rural festivals, bordellos, plays, paintings, and work and wages.

About the Author
Roy Porter was, until his retirement, Professor in the Social History of Medicine at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine. He died in 2002.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (September 4, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140138196
• ISBN-13: 978-0140138191
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #71,328 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #10 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > History
  #21 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Class
  #47 in	Books > History > Europe > England > 19th Century

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Immensely interesting!, March 27, 2002

By	Dianne (US) - See all my reviews

I enjoyed this book so much that I look forward to reading more of Porter's books.

Some readers may find it necessary to keep a dictionary close by, but don't let this put you off if you are interested in the social history of England in the 18th century.

The author manages to balance dry statistics with extremely interesting facts, all written in a reader-friendly manner. Chapter headings such as "Power, Politics and the Law" and "Having and Enjoying" give you an idea of the wide scope of the book.

The reader will find more enjoyment in reading 18th century works (novels, biography and non-fiction) after being educated by this book.

I oftentimes read, then sell my books. This is one I will not sell. I only wish I had it in hardcover.

If "What Jane Austen Knew and Charles Dickens Ate" (sic) left you crying for some serious information about this age, I recommend this book!

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pure Delight, August 18, 2003

By	Thomas M. Sullivan (Lake George, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I come late to Porter, and I certainly wish I hadn't. It's almost enough to make me surrender my credentials as a dyed-in-the-wool lover of English History. The deceased physician-cum-historian was a prolific writer, turning out works on subjects as diverse as English manners and the social history of gout. But having now read two of his books, including this excellent overview of English society in the Georgian period, I realize what all the (quiet) fuss was about. Porter was simply a fabulous writer who happened to be an historian, the opposite too often not being the case. I doubt very much there is a better source in this subject for the general reader than this book. But if you buy it, by all means read it slowly and take time to savor the writing. The good news for me is that I have a lot of Porter yet to read, and I can't wait.

32 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Difficult but good, November 1, 2000

By A Customer

This is a good study of English life of the 18th century. It is written by a brit, using their slang and spellings, at the college level.

I found his comparisons of life in England to life on the European continent very interesting and informative. His slant on the individual liberties to which most Englishmen felt they were entitled was enlightening.

This is a difficult book and I found myself looking up words in the dictionary frequently, but for someone who is seriously interested in knowing what life was like in Great Britain in the 1700s, it is a good choice.