Book excerpt: First published in 1985. Too often aspects of working-class life have been treated as distinct and separate. The contributors to this volume are aware of the dangers of such atomisation and have attempted to bring together a collection of studies which add to our knowledge of life in that time. The examinations of family, health, work, leisure and criminal trends form the basis of this work, and suggest that the everyday lives and values of the working-class were even more varied, creative and complex than is generally believed. This title will be of interest to students of history.