In l750, half the population were unable to sign their names; by l9l4 England, together with a handful of advanced Western countries, had for the first time in history achieved a nominally literate society. This book seeks to understand how and why literacy spread into every corner of English society, and what impact it had on the lives and minds of the common people.

A study of how and why literacy spread into every corner of English society between 1750 and 1914.
Reviews
'David Vincent's history of the teaching of reading and writing, and its cultural implications, shows how, once you take the winning of literacy as a serious issue, it opens up new perspectives on a whole series of major themes. His topics range from family relationships and social mobility, through politics and election broadsides, to the cultural influences of literacy on the working-class generation before that of Richard Hoggart.' The Times Literary Supplement
'This is an ambitious, scholarly and fascinating book of interest not only to specialists and historians but also to a wider public.' The Times Higher Education Supplement



Book Information
ISBN 9780521457712
Author David Vincent
Format Paperback
Page Count 376
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 625g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 151mm * 25mm