Popular culture and working-class taste in Britain, 1930-39 : a round of cheap diversions? / Robert James.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

James, Robert, 1968-

Series:

Studies in popular culture (Manchester, England)

Studies in popular culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Working class--Recreation--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Working class.

Great Britain--Civilization--20th century.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (289 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Manchester, U.K. ; New York : Manchester University Press : Distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave Macmillan, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book examines the relationship between class and culture in 1930's Britain. Focusing on the reading and cinema-going tastes of the working classes, Robert James' landmark study combines rigorous historical analysis with a close textual reading of visual and written sources to appraise the role of popular leisure in this fascinating decade.Drawing on a wealth of original research, this lively and accessible book adds immeasurably to our knowledge of working-class leisure pursuits in this contentious period. It is a key intervention in the field, providing both an imaginative approach to the

Contents:

'The people's amusement': the growth in cinema-going and reading habits

'Fouling civilisation?: official attitudes towards popular film and literature

Trade attitudes towards audience taste

'What made you put that rubbish on?': national trends in film popularity

'The appearance as an added incentive': national trends in literature popularity

'A very profitable enterprise': South Wales Miners' Institutes

'Gunmen, rustlers and a damsel in distress': working-class tastes in Derby

'The home of the brave"? working -class tastes in Portsmouth

Popular film and literature: textual analyses

Conclusion: 'giving the public what it wants'.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [250]-256) and index.

ISBN:

9781847797551

1847797555

9781781702444

1781702446

9781847793126

1847793126

OCLC:

818847417