Child Workers and Industrial Health in Britain, 1780-1850 (People, Markets, Goods: Economies and Societies in History)

Kirby is not an apologist for the dangers of the early industrial workplace, but he does complicate our understanding of them. By using modern studies of child-worker health in developing countries to shed light on the possible medical conditions of early 19th-century operatives, the most disturbing aspect of his research is not what it reveals about child labour 200 years ago, but about the present, when we can no longer claim the defence of ignorance. ― HISTORY TODAY

An excellent and comprehensive study of the occupational health of child workers in the most high-profile areas of the industrial sector. It makes a significant contribution to debates on child labour, and the impact of industry on health and daily life. Kirby paints a notably more optimistic picture of the industrial workplace than we are used to. . . . The book is an excellent introduction to the topic for students and researchers alike. ― ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW

An impressive monograph [and] a masterly survey of the field. … Essential reading to bring up to date all who work or teach in this field. ― HISTORY

In this meticulously researched study, Peter Kirby challenges assumptions about child workers that were commonly held by contemporaries and that have been perpetuated by historians. … The implications of his highly readable reinterpretation … should be given due recognition by anyone researching industrial populations. ― LOCAL POPULATION STUDIES

This book is an important contribution to the history of child labour during industrialisation, as well as to the history of medicine and its ‘professionalisation’ in the nineteenth century. It provides a corrective to long-held, but ill-informed, views on child workers in northern textile mills. … Essential reading. ― CANADIAN JOURNAL OF HISTORY

Significantly contributes to the child labor literature. … [It] has broad appeal and should be of interest to economic historians and social historians, as well as psychologists and sociologists. It is well written and superbly documented and is accessible to students at both the undergraduate and graduate level. ― EH.NET

An elegantly written exploration. Recommended. ― CHOICE