This second volume of John Rule's major two-volume portrait of Georgian England is a comprehensive and authoritative survey of eighteenth-century society, incorporating the exciting new research findings of recent years. It deals in turn with the upper class, `middling sort' and lower orders; with popular education, religion and culture; with standards of living in town and country; and with crime, punishment and protest. The book, which is as rich and varied as the age it explores, ends with an assessment of continuity and change across the century.

• Cover 2
• Half Title 3
• Title Page 5
• Copyright Page 6
• Table of Contents 7
• List of Abbreviations 9
• List of Figures 10
• List of Tables 11
• Introductory Note 12
• Preface 15
• Acknowledgements 18
• 1. The Background 19
  • Population growth 19
  • Urbanisation and labour 27
  • The ‘consumer revolution’ 39