Family Affairs: A History of the Family in Twentieth-Century England / Edition 1

by Mary Abbott

Overview

The decades between the close of World War I and the end of the Thatcher era have changed and challenged family life in England dramatically. The Depression and World War II shifted priorities and behaviour, as did the Welfare State, the Pill and Women's Lib later on. What threatened a family's respectability in the 1920s is often commonplace today - abortion, contraception, the single parent family, or gay relationships. Family Affairs explores the secret life of English families from 1920 to 1990. Mary Abbott takes the reader into her subjects' homes and hearts and provokes readers to reflect on families past and speculate on families future. A product of intense original research of primary and secondary sources, this volume is a useful contribution to the history of the family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415145879
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/20/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Mary Abbott teaches at the Anglia Polytechnic University in Cambridge. Her previous publications include Family Ties: English Families 1540–1920 (Routledge 1993) and Life Cycles in England 1560–1720: Cradle to Grave (1996).

Table of Contents

Introduction 1 Cultural tribes 2 Between the wars, 1920–1939 3 ‘Not brave, just British’, 1939–1945 4 A better world, 1945–1960 5 Runaway world, 1960–1979 6 A decadent, undisclipined society? 1980–1990 Conclusion: prophesies fulfilled?