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Specialist archives, published sources, recommended reading and other resources and documents are covered.  She focuses primarily on England and Wales and covers the years 1750 - 1950. The second part of her book is a directory of archives and specialist repositories. Databases of children's societies, useful genealogy websites, and places to visit which bring the social history of childhood to life are all included.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49517477134609,"sku":"GOR007895941","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49755410956561,"sku":"GOR011362435","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1781591660.jpg?v=1751377963"},{"product_id":"regency-cheshire-book-sue-wilkes-9780709085300","title":"Regency Cheshire","description":"It was an age of unique style and elegance; the era of Trafalgar and Waterloo. \"Regency Cheshire\" explores the scandals, sports and pastimes of the great county families such as the Grosvenors of Eaton Hall. Their glittering lifestyle is contrasted with conditions for humble farmers and factory workers. The gentry and mill owners created elegant new villas and beautiful gardens while workers huddled together in slums with inadequate sanitation. The Prince Regent and his cronies danced and feasted while cotton and silk workers starved. Cheshire's rural tranquility was under siege; smoke belched out over the textile and salt towns. Stage coaches rattled through the streets; packet boats and barges sailed down the canals. The author traces the changes in the county's transport system and the effect on its chief industries: silk, cotton, salt and cheese. Reform and revolution threatened the old social order. Blood was spilt on city streets during election fever and in the struggle for democracy. Napoleon's forces were poised to invade - but Cheshire troops battled their own countrymen instead of marauding Frenchmen. Balls and bear-baiting; highwaymen and hangings; riots and reform: \"Regency Cheshire\" tells the story of county life during the age of Beau Brummell, Walter Scott and Jane Austen.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49541196874001,"sku":"GOR003663439","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49589918728465,"sku":"GOR012638596","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51210219028753,"sku":"GOR014199950","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53369925632273,"sku":"GOR003876796","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0709085303.jpg?v=1750913131"},{"product_id":"visitor-s-guide-to-jane-austen-s-england-book-sue-wilkes-9781781592649","title":"Visitor's Guide to Jane Austen's England","description":"Immerse yourself in the vanished world inhabited by Austen's contemporaries. Packed with detail, and anecdotes, this is an intimate exploration of how the middle and upper classes lived from 1775, the year of Austen's birth, to the coronation of George IV in 1820. Sue Wilkes skilfully conjures up all aspects of daily life within the period, drawing on contemporary diaries, illustrations, letters, novels, travel literature and archives. Were all unmarried affluent men really 'in want of a wife?' Where would a young lady seek adventures?  Would 'taking the waters' at Bath and other spas kill or cure you? Was Lizzy Bennet bitten by bed-bugs while travelling? What would you wear to a country ball, or a dance at Almack's?  Would Mr Darcy have worn a corset?  What hidden horrors lurked in elegant Regency houses?","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49547747229969,"sku":"GOR013751751","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49564128608529,"sku":"GOR007003267","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49736843526417,"sku":"NGR9781781592649","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1781592640.jpg?v=1751439788"},{"product_id":"regency-spies-book-sue-wilkes-9781783400614","title":"Regency Spies","description":"Sue Wilkes reveals the shadowy world of Britain's spies, rebels and secret societies from the late 1780s until 1820. Drawing on contemporary literature and official records, Wilkes unmasks the real conspirators and tells the tragic stories of the unwitting victims sent to the gallows. In this 'age of Revolutions', when the French fought for liberty, Britain's upper classes feared revolution was imminent. Thomas Paine's incendiary Rights of Man called men to overthrow governments which did not safeguard their rights. Were Jacobins and Radical reformers in England and Scotland secretly plotting rebellion? Ireland, too, was a seething cauldron of unrest, its impoverished people oppressed by their Protestant masters. Britain's governing elite could not rely on the armed services - even Royal Navy crews mutinied over brutal conditions. To keep the nation safe, a 'war chest' of secret service money funded a network of spies to uncover potential rebels amongst the underprivileged masses. It had some famous successes: dashing Colonel Despard, friend of Lord Nelson, was executed for treason.Sometimes in the deadly game of cat-and-mouse between spies and their prey suspicion fell on the wrong men, like poets Wordsworth and Coleridge. Even peaceful reformers risked arrest for sedition. Political meetings like Manchester's 'Peterloo' were ruthlessly suppressed, and innocent blood spilt. Repression bred resentment - and a diabolical plot was born. The stakes were incredibly high: rebels suffered the horrors of a traitor's death when found guilty. Some conspirators' secrets died with them on the scaffold...","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49552317219089,"sku":"GOR007390991","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50726645956881,"sku":"GOR014050492","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51461478023441,"sku":"CIN1783400617VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53615349399825,"sku":"GOR010126600","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1783400617.jpg?v=1751153694"},{"product_id":"narrow-windows-narrow-lives-book-sue-wilkes-9780752442532","title":"Narrow Windows, Narrow Lives","description":"Working families in Victorian Lancashire had few choices. Work; starve; or face the workhouse and the break up of their family. Narrow Windows, Narrow Lives recreates everyday life for textile workers, canal boat families, coalminers, metal workers navvies and glassblowers using contemporary eyewitness accounts and interviews. It depicts the dire state of towns and the dreadful hazards workers faced on a daily basis. Who was the ‘knocker-upper’? Why did families eat ‘tommyrot’? Why couldn’t ‘Lump Lad’ sleep soundly in his bed? Men, women and children endured incredibly long working hours in appalling conditions – but their toil helped make Britain ‘Great.’","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49605414813969,"sku":"GOR005796873","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0752442538.jpg?v=1751451340"},{"product_id":"tracing-your-canal-ancestors-a-guide-for-family-historians-book-sue-wilkes-9781848842380","title":"Tracing Your Canal Ancestors: A Guide For Family Historians","description":"Britain's industrial revolution depended on canals for the cheap movement of materials and goods - until the coming of the railways. Canal companies struggled to compete and went into a long decline, but much of the canal network is still with us today, and interest in the history and heritage of canals - and those who worked on them - is strong. That is why Sue Wilkes's well researched and highly readable handbook on the subject is so valuable. She concentrates on the people who lived and worked on the waterways - the canal boatmen, their families and their way of life - and those who depended on the canal trade for a living - the lock-keepers, toll collectors, and canal company clerks. She provides a thorough, practical guide to the sources - the archives, books, websites, societies - available for researchers if they are studying our inland waterways, or trying to find out about an ancestor who worked on the canals or was connected with them. Her book is essential reading for anyone interested in this aspect of the industrial past.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49659591360785,"sku":"GOR012980291","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49749152891153,"sku":"GOR006008250","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51269918621969,"sku":"NGR9781848842380","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848842384.jpg?v=1750995682"},{"product_id":"tracing-your-manchester-and-salford-ancestors-book-sue-wilkes-9781473856356","title":"Tracing Your Manchester and Salford Ancestors","description":"For readers with family ties to Manchester and Salford, and researchers delving into the rich history of these cities, this informative, accessible guide will be essential reading and a fascinating source of reference. Sue Wilkes outlines the social and family history of the region in a series of concise chapters. She discusses the origins of its religious and civic institutions, transport systems and major industries. Important local firms and families are used to illustrate aspects of local heritage, and each section directs the reader towards appropriate resources for their research. No previous knowledge of genealogy is assumed and in-depth reading on particular topics is recommended. The focus is on records relating to Manchester and Salford, including current districts and townships, and sources for religious and ethnic minorities are covered. A directory of the relevant archives, libraries, academic repositories, databases, societies, websites and places to visit, is a key feature of this practical book.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49732017783057,"sku":"NGR9781473856356","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52823664853265,"sku":"GOR008863666","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1473856353.jpg?v=1751419845"},{"product_id":"tracing-your-lancashire-ancestors-a-guide-for-family-historians-book-sue-wilkes-9781848847446","title":"Tracing Your Lancashire Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians","description":"If you want to find out about Lancashire's  history, and particularly if you have family links to the area and your ancestors lived or worked in the county, then this is the ideal book for you. As well as helping you to trace when and where your ancestors were born, married and died, it gives you an insight into the world they knew and a chance to explore their lives at work and at home.Sue Wilkes's accessible and informative handbook outlines Lancashire's history and describes the origins of its major industries - cotton, coal, transport, engineering, shipbuilding and others. She looks at the stories of important Lancashire families such as the Stanleys, Peels and Egertons, and famous entrepreneurs such as Richard Arkwright, in order to illustrate aspects of Lancashire life and to show how the many sources available for family and local history research can be used. Relevant documents, specialist archives and libraries, background reading and other sources are recommended throughout this practical book. Also included is a directory of Lancashire archives, libraries and academic repositories, as well as databases of family history societies, useful genealogy websites, and places to visit which bring Lancashire's past to life. Sue Wilkes's book is the essential companion for anyone who wants to discover their Lancashire roots.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49737647030545,"sku":"NGR9781848847446","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49886674288913,"sku":"GOR004770589","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50302042997009,"sku":"GOR011564424","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52715338039569,"sku":"GOR010260849","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848847440.jpg?v=1751450035"},{"product_id":"children-history-forgot-book-sue-wilkes-9780709089728","title":"Children History Forgot","description":"Once upon a time, Britain forged a mighty industrial empire - built with the blood, sweat and tears of society's most vulnerable members. Children History Forgot explores young people's working lives during the late Georgian and Victorian eras, when boys and girls created almost every item in our ancestors' homes: bricks, glass, cutlery, candles, lace, cotton and more. All over Britain, from the coal mines of Wales to the flax mills of Ireland, children toiled in factories and workshops, underground and on the land. A chosen few like Samuel Slater began new lives in America but thousands of others have been forgotten by history: killed by unguarded machinery or poisoned by metal or pottery dust. Many were conscript workers: pauper apprentices trapped by their poverty.  Sue Wilkes tells the story of the long, heartbreaking fight for reform. The story of men like Lord Shaftesbury, Richard Oastler and the tireless factory inspectors who battled, not only to improve youngsters' working conditions and opportunities for education, but also to change society's attitudes towards childhood. Children History Forgot takes a fresh look at the true cost of Britain's industrial success story.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50126558986513,"sku":"GOR006558437","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51612902719761,"sku":"GOR010541529","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/B0092I5HPO.jpg?v=1750848259"},{"product_id":"young-workers-of-the-industrial-age-book-sue-wilkes-9781036113834","title":"Young Workers of the Industrial Age","description":"The industrial revolution was forged with the lives of our ancestors' children.All over Britain, children and young people toiled for hours every day. Their workplaces were pitch-dark mines, fiery furnaces, brightly-lit mills with deadly machines, and mud-filled brickyards.Some workers were pauper apprentices, sent thousands of miles from their homes and indentured until the age of twenty-one.Almost every item in our ancestors' homes and wardrobes was made by children and youngsters: buttons, glass, carpets, cotton, cutlery, pins, candles, lace, pottery, straw hats, and even matches.In grand houses and ordinary homes, tiny chimney sweeps climbed chimneys choked with soot, and boys and girls worked as domestic servants. On the land, both sexes worked in all weathers. Children worked at home, too - many helped their parents earn a living.From the early 1800s, men like Robert Owen tried to improve children's lives. But reform was held back for decades by wealthy mill-owners, landowners and politicians who believed that profits were more important than people.Sue Wilkes tells the story of the battle for workplace and educational reforms led by Lord Shaftesbury, Richard Oastler, and the indefatigable factory inspectors. But it took many decades to transform society's attitude towards childhood itself.Young Workers of the Industrial Age takes a fresh look at the childhoods stolen to create Britain's industrial empire.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51597811056913,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51597811253521,"sku":"NGR9781036113834","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1036113833.jpg?v=1751439471"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-sue-wilkes.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}