This book shows how a rural household economy of small-holders in one of the least isolated areas of France, the Loire Country, managed to survive the challenges of the nineteenth century. Rather than taking the view that this system was an anachronism doomed to disappear, the author recognises its large adaptive capacity during times of stress. This leads to a critical assessment of the notions of 'industrialisation' and 'modernisation' that will interest economists, anthropologists and social scientists, as well as historians.