Family History in Lancashire

Book excerpt: This book explores the history of the family in Lancashire during and after industrialisation. The family is society’s most basic building block and, as each contributor shows, its ability to adapt to circumstances is one of its most enduring qualities. Economic change created social stresses which, whilst resulting in administrative and institutional change, were primarily absorbed within family groups. Indeed, it could be argued that the family was society’s most effective safety valve and shock absorber, as individuals responded to the pressures created by industrialisation with its associated problems. This book brings together the work of leading historians who have each made unique contributions to our understanding of the family in the North West.