E. P. Thompson

By E. P. Thompson The Making of the English Working Class (Pelican) (New impression)

Penguin Books Ltd. paperback , Condition: Good.

Aardvark Rare BooksProfessional seller

Book number: mon0000363534

THOMPSON, E. P.

The Making of the English Working Class

London: Penguin, 2013. Fourth Impression. Original decorated wrappers. Slight wear to spine, covers & corners. Light soiling to text block edges. ; 19.6 x 12.9 x 4.8 cms; x, 958 pages; E. P. Thompson’s The Making of the English Working Class (1963) is a landmark work of social history that explores how the English working class came into being during the Industrial Revolution. Thompson argues that class is not a fixed economic category but a historical process—a lived relationship shaped through experience, culture, and collective struggle. He emphasizes that the working class was not simply a result of industrial capitalism but was actively formed through the experiences of ordinary people. These included disruptions brought by industrialization—such as urbanization, the breakdown of traditional work patterns, and the rise of factory labor—as well as their responses to these changes through movements like Luddism, Methodism, and trade unionism. Thompson highlights how political radicalism played a key role in shaping working-class consciousness. The ideas of the French Revolution, the influence of thinkers like Thomas Paine and William Cobbett, and movements like Chartism contributed to a sense of shared identity and resistance. A central theme of the book is Thompson’s rejection of economic determinism. He insists on the agency of working people, showing how they interpreted their conditions, formed solidarities, and created a class identity through struggle, rather than being passively shaped by economic forces. Culture, religion, literature, and moral values are also integral to Thompson’s analysis. He demonstrates how these elements influenced how the working class understood itself and the world, weaving them into a broader narrative of political and social development. This work remains foundational for its humanistic approach to history, its emphasis on lived experience, and its enduring message that class is something made by people, not something that simply happens to them.. Very Good- with no dust jacket .

Literary Cat BooksProfessional seller

Book number: LCB63361

Catalogue: History

Keywords: England Protest Poverty Britain