Time and Work in England 1750-1830. - Review - book review

Contemporary Review, March, 2001

Time and Work in England 1750-1830. Hans-Joachim Voth. Clarendon Press, Oxford. [pound]40.00. 304 pages. ISBN 0-19-924194-5. The industrial revolution, which transformed English life and made England the world's first industrial power, continues to attract attention from historians. This latest study discusses 'the use of time' during the period from 1750-1830: did hours of work increase as those devoted to leisure decreased? This has been the orthodoxy for well over a century.

Dr Voth argues that there is not enough evidence for these popular assumptions and by using new material concludes that Englishmen did work harder, that is, more hours per week, in 1830 than they had in 1760. This was not because they worked more hours per day but because they had fewer days as holidays. There was much more stability in this period than Marx assumed and much more variety than E. P. Thompson concluded. What changed was the 'rhythm of work'. There was no greater productivity per worker but simply more things produced. Th is is a stimulating and challenging new study that will do much to reshape our understanding of the industrial revolution. (J.M.)