The new Routledge History of Poverty, c. 1450-1800 provides neither a "history" nor a coherent concept of "poverty" and rests on an inappropriate time scale. However, a closer discussion of these flaws enables a more consistent perspective, based on the idea that the interplay of "labour" and...

The immensely rich archives emerging from the parochial administration of the English poor law before 1834 include letters to the overseers of the poor that came from the poor themselves. As personal testimonies of people claiming relief, which are often written in a stunningly 'private' tone,...

The immensely rich archives emerging from the parochial administration of the English poor law before 1834 include letters to the overseers of the poor that came from the poor themselves. As personal testimonies of people claiming relief, which are often written in a stunningly 'private' tone,...