The decline of British industry, along with monetarism, economic liberalization and the rise of the financial sector are popularly associated with the 1980s and Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government. But British industry had already passed its peak nearly a century before. Unregulated...

"The book explores the vital role played by the financial service industries in enabling the poor to consume over the last hundred and fifty years. Spending requires means, but these industries offered something else as well - they offered practical marketing devices that captured, captivated...

1. Unearthing the 'very dirt of private fact' : the work of market devices -- 2. Groovy like the market? Problems with fit and adaptation in government schemes to insure the poor -- 3. Organising charisma : the role of doorstep finance agents -- 4. Following the lines from conversation to...