William Cobbett and Rural Popular Culture
£30.99
- Author: Ian Dyck, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia
- Date Published: November 2005
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521021708
£
30.99
Paperback
Looking for an inspection copy?
This title is not currently available on inspection
-
This is the first rural and cultural study of the great English countryman William Cobbett (1763–1835). It binds Cobbett's radical career to his rural heritage and to the experiences and politics of agricultural workers during the early nineteenth century. As a radical, Cobbett's first quest was to represent the hardships of the labouring poor, and he adopted the labourers' cultural experiences and class consciousness as the basis of his political platform. He revolutionized press history by joining the 'pedlar's pack', from where he dispensed his two-penny broadsheets along with other varieties of popular literature. The rural labourers understood Cobbett because he articulated their beliefs and values as expressed in their own folksongs and broadside ballads. They embraced Cobbett as a radical leader and as an educator, heeding his moral instruction, his treatises on cottage economy, and his prescriptions on the recovery of Old England. Cobbett lived and moved among the labourers, and knew their political or economic grievances; thus long before the 'Captain Swing' rising he forecast the date and patterns of the revolt. His predictions came to pass and he became the single most important leader of the insurrection. His position of authority in the villages carried him forward in the cause of the Great Reform Bill and the Old Poor Law, so that by the end of his eventful career he was the sole public exponent of the cottage charter. This is a major and original work on Cobbett, and represents a breakthrough in the study of rural popular culture and in Cobbett scholarship. It will appeal strongly to a wide range of social and political historians, and have much value for all those interested in the language of class, the evolution of the English language, and the history of journalism.
Read more- This is a major new appraisal of perhaps the most famous English countryman of the early nineteenth century
- The book includes a great deal of fashionable oral and folk material which helps explain the meaning of Cobbett's influence and hold over rural labourers
Customer reviews
Not yet reviewed
Be the first to review
Review was not posted due to profanity
×Product details
- Date Published: November 2005
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521021708
- length: 332 pages
- dimensions: 234 x 156 x 20 mm
- weight: 0.467kg
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
List of illustrations
Preface
List of abbreviations
1. 'Common cause': Cobbett and the village worker
2. The making of a Radical
3. Discovering class: countrymen, labourers and new-fashioned farmers
4. The battle for the pedlar's pack
5. Cottage economy
6. Old England: nostalgia and experience
7. 'Rural war': Cobbett and Captain Swing
8. Towards revolution: the Reform Bill, the Poor Law and the cottage charter
Epilogue
Appendices
Notes
Bibliography
Index.
Sorry, this resource is locked
Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email [email protected]
Register Sign in» Proceed
You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.
Continue ×Are you sure you want to delete your account?
This cannot be undone.
Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.
If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.
×