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third-party sites.
Victorian Social History
www.victorianweb.org/history/sochistov.html
Among much else, looks at the conditions of life and labour, plus education,
and gives an economic history of the Victorian era.
Spartacus
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Britain.html
Comprehensive British history site, 1750 to present, with plenty of articles
on the Industrial Revolution.
Cotton Times
www.cottontimes.co.uk
Excellent site with information on many aspects of Britain's Industrial
Revolution. There's a particularly moving piece on how children working
in the spinning rooms were regularly beaten, simply to keep them awake towards
the end of their 14- or 15-hour day.
The Workhouse
www.workhouses.org.uk
Well-illustrated history of the workhouse in Britain.
The Condition of the Working Class in England
www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/
1845/condition-working-class/
In 1844, Frederick Engels writes a book that paints an unforgettable picture
of daily life in the new industrial towns of England. This classic piece of
social history is now available to read online.
Marx and Engels Internet Archive
www.marxists.org/archive/marx/index.htm
Comprehensive resource of the writings of Marx, Engels and many other Marxist
writers of the 1800s, including William Morris.
The Crystal Palace Foundation
www.crystalpalacefoundation.org.uk
In 1854, the Crystal Palace – which had held the Great Exhibition of
All the Nations in Hyde Park three years earlier – opened in its new
home in south London. This site is maintained by the Foundation, a society
of volunteers dedicated to the memory of the Crystal Palace.
Men of Iron
http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/
H/history/i-m/iron.html
An extract from the book Men of Iron: Brunel, Stephenson and the inventions
that shaped the modern world (see below), which describes the
rivalry and friendship between Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Robert Stephenson.
Books
 Capital by Karl Marx (Penguin, 1992)
Marx's major work was the product of 30 years' close study of the most advanced
industrial society of his day. He devoted most of his adult life to analysing
the 'laws of motion' of capitalism. The result was a book that would change
the world.
Get this book
 The Condition of the Working Class in England by Friedrich
Engels edited by David McLellan (Oxford Paperbacks, 1999)
Engels' work on the plight of industrial workers in England in the 1840s
is still considered to be the best study of the working class in Victorian
England. This edition includes a map of Manchester c 1845.
Get this book
 The Industrialisation of Britain, 1780-1914 by Phil Chapple
(Hodder Arnold, 1999)
Economic growth was of momentous importance to the 19th century, transforming
Britain into the 'workshop of the world'. Synthesising much complex research
into an accessible form, Chapple examines the nature of industrial growth in
the railways, agriculture and overseas trade.
Get this book
 Inventing the 19th Century: The great age of Victorian inventions by
Stephen Van Dulken (British Library Publishing, 2001)
Chronicles a period of enormous technological change by examining the history
of the most important inventions of the 19th century, from the telephone to
tiddlywinks. Includes illustrations of the original patent drawings from the
British Library's collections.
Get this book
 Brunel: The life and times of Isambard Kingdom Brunel by Angus
Buchanan (Hambledon & London, 2001)
A biography of one of the greatest of all engineers, whose leading role in
the transport revolution of the 19th century, and especially in the building
of the Great Western Railway, left an indelible mark on the British landscape.
Get this book
 Men of Iron: Brunel, Stephenson and the inventions that shaped the
modern world by Sally Dugan (Channel 4 Books, 2003)
An illustrated record of some of the greatest engineering feats of the Industrial
Revolution. Includes blueprints, engravings, letters and diary extracts.
Get this book
 The Oxford Companion to British Railway History edited by Jack
Simmons and Gordon Biddle (Oxford University Press, 1999)
A classic work of reference, considered by many to be the most important book
ever published on railways in Britain.
Get this book
 The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage (Phoenix, 1999)
Tells the story of the spread of the telegraph and how it transformed the Victorian
world. It was greeted with the same concerns, hype, social panic and excitement
that now surround the internet, and Standage provides an insight into the
past and a context in which to think differently about today's concerns.
Get this book
 What the Victorians Did for Us by Adam Hart-Davis (Headline,
2002)
A celebration of Victorian achievements and a reflection on the fact that we
still live in a Victorian world.
Get this book
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