Leisure and Class in Victorian England
Rational recreation and the contest for control, 1830-1885

First published in 2006. Part of the Studies in Social History series, this volume looks at leisure and class in Victorian England, 1830-85, including topics of popular recreation, middle class and working class differences and rational recreation for the masses and the case of Victorian Music Halls in the entertainment industry.

Introduction; Chapter 1 Popular Recreation in the Early Victorian Town; Chapter 2 Rational Recreation: Voices of Improvement; Chapter 3 The New Leisure World of the Mid-Victorians: the Expansion of Middle-class Recreation, its Practice and Problems; Chapter 4 Dispensing Recreation to the Masses in the New Leisure World; Chapter 5 Rational Recreation in Operation: the Working Men's Club Movement; Chapter 6 Rational Recreation and the New Athleticism; Chapter 7 Rational Recreation and the Entertainment Industry: the Case of the Victorian Music Halls; conclusion Conclusions;