The Happiness of the British Working Class / Jamie L. Bronstein.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bronstein, Jamie L., 1968- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English literature--19th century--History and criticism.

English literature.

Happiness in literature.

Working class authors--Great Britain--History--19th century.

Working class authors.

Working class in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (302 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, [2023]

Summary:

For working-class life writers in nineteenth century Britain, happiness was a multifaceted emotion: a concept that could describe experiences of hedonic pleasure, foster and deepen social relationships, drive individuals to self-improvement, and lead them to look back over their lives and evaluate whether they were well-lived. However, not all working-class autobiographers shared the same concepts or valorizations of happiness, as variables such as geography, gender, political affiliation, and social and economic mobility often influenced the way they defined and experienced their emotional lives. The Happiness of the British Working Class employs and analyzes over 350 autobiographies of individuals in England, Scotland, and Ireland to explore the sources of happiness of British working people born before 1870. Drawing from careful examinations of their personal narratives, Jamie L. Bronstein investigates the ways in which working people thought about the good life as seen through their experiences with family and friends, rewarding work, interaction with the natural world, science and creativity, political causes and religious commitments, and physical and economic struggles. Informed by the history of emotions and the philosophical and social-scientific literature on happiness, this book reflects broadly on the industrial-era working-class experience in an era of immense social and economic change.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

One: Interrogating Autobiographies

Two: The Simple Pleasures of Childhood

Three: Work and Flow

Four: Life Is with People

Five: The Natural World

Six: Self-Cultivation

Seven: The Way of Duty

Eight: Absent Happiness

Nine: Sadness, Fear, and Anger

Ten: The Past and the Present Converse

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Back Cover.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Print version: Bronstein, Jamie L. The Happiness of the British Working Class

ISBN:

9781503633858

OCLC:

1351197240