The Industrial Revolution

This is a short but sweet account of the social history of the industrial revolution.

It explains how the rapid advance in technology of the late 18th and early 19th centuries shaped Britain’s cities and the countryside and how it caused dramatic changes in people’s lives.

It is a well-written and accessible introduction for those with little or no previous knowledge. The book also has many illustrations and a useful list of places to visit at the back.

It is part of a series from Shire, which covers topics such as Roman Britain and Tudor England, and which aims to create a panorama of British life from the Iron Age to the present.

Sue Wingrove is a writer and former deputy editor of BBC History Magazine