Publisher's Synopsis
This book examines the development of social science and social research in Victorian and Edwardian Britain. The organising concepts of social investigation in the nineteenth century are problematical, its intellectual context is unclear and its methodological base uncertain. This collection of essays by leading scholars sets out to identify the problems and pitfalls in our current approaches and indicate how we can solve the former and avoid the latter. The essays enable the reader to see the work of Charles Booth in terms of motivation, method and meaning; to relate his work and that of his many associates to the contemporary social, intellectual and political milieu, and to compare his work with that of other social investigators of the period - such as Mayhew, the Webbs and Rowntree. They indicate some of the ways in which these retrieved archival riches may be re-worked by modern scholars to achieve a deeper understanding of Victorian society. An introduction skillfully places Charles Booth within the context of social investigation as a whole and enables both student and teacher to employ their reading of the volume to further their study of Victorian social science and society.
