First published in 1970,
Modern English Society
is primarily concerned with the period since the Great Exhibition of 1851. Judith Ryder and Harold Silver begin by surveying the consequences, good and ill, of industrialization, and go on to explore the changing pattern of social relationships to which it gave rise. They discuss such topics as the growth of towns and of large-scale administration, the development of welfare services, the emergence of mass politics, the mass media and mass production. They show how social attitudes, and the interpretation of historical facts are colored by our ideological views. In the second half of the book, they examine the structure and functioning of contemporary social institutions – the family, education, the economic and political systems – and assess their implications for the individual, for specific social groups, and for society as a whole. This book will be of interest to students of history and sociology.