Best Selling Books by Pamela Horn

Paradoxically, the Victorian era, which was laid on a bedrock of work and industry, saw the greatest upsurge in leisure pursuits hitherto witnessed. This book describes the pastimes enjoyed by the Victorians, placing them in their social context.

A fascinating glimpse of life below stairs, This book tells the stories of the lives the people who lived and worked there.

First published in 1991 and now available in paperback, a title in the ILLUSTRATED HISTORY PAPERBACK series which explores the life and social round of the wives and daughters of the landed aristocracy and gentry from the 1830s to the end of the First World War.

Forget glossy period dramas, here is the real story of Britain''s super-rich from the First World War to the end of the ''roaring'' twenties.

What was it like to live in a Victorian Household? What time did the servants have to get up? What was the food like and who cooked it? How did the clothing differ for the different types of servants? How much did the servants get paid? This book shows you what it was really like to live in Victorian times, for those both above and below stairs.

A superbly- illustrated account of the British system of education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

An honest account of what life was really like for the rural community in the Victorian age

The story of the shopworkers who emerged during the Victorian and Edwardian era to cater for all clientele from behind the counters of the increasing number of shops and lavish department stores.

This book traces the nature of change within the country community of England and Wales between 1870 and 1918--a period that was, in many respects, a watershed in British history. Horn reveals the powerful underlying stresses and tensions of rural life: people experienced the anxieties of agricultural recession, the declining influence of the landed classes, the diminishing support for religious institutions, and the disruption of many traditional aspects of rural life.

Real women''s lives in the era of The Great Gatsby.

A fascinating and very readable exploration of how young offenders have passed through the legal justice system over 300 years.

The real lives of servants in the second half of the twentieth century.

Victorian England measured social acceptability in terms of the number of servants employed in a household. This frequently overlooked body of workers actually formed the largest occupational group in the country by the end of the 19th century. In this account, the author draws on contemporary sources, including servants'' books and personal reminiscences of servants and employers, to offer a record of recruitment and training; the duties expected of servants; and the range of conditions under which they worked - some of which led to happy retirement, others to prostitution or squalid death. Complemented with photographs, Punch illustrations and other ephemera, the book offers a picture of this vanished social system.

What did Victorian ladies wear? How did they spend their free time? How did they cope with the strict rules of etiquette concerning the opposite sex, calling on other ladies, ordering the staff and structuring their household? Here you can read about their food, their dress, their rules, their passions and their lives.

This short book provides a succinct account of changes in children''s work and welfare in Britain between 1780 and 1890. It examines both the scale and the nature of child employment and the changing attitude of society towards it at a time when Britain was becoming the ''workshop of the world''. The further development of industry in the second half of the nineteenth century meant that the need for juvenile workers declined. At the same time the efforts of philanthropists and the State led to legal curbs on the kinds of jobs children could perform and the minimum age at which they could commence them. The author concludes that the century after 1780 saw a progressive lengthening of childhood as a stage of life, and that by 1890 children had been recognised as ''special cases'' in need of protective legislation. However, for the poorest and most disadvantaged families life remained a struggle, and children continued to pick up a living where they could.

In this book, first published in 1980, the author draws a vivid picture of what country life was like for the vast majority of English villagers - agricultural labourers, craftsmen and small farmers - during a period of rapid agricultural development. This study analyses the influence of the enclosure movement on farming methods and on the structure of village life, and examines the devastating effects of the Napoleonic wars on English society. The Rural World is based on a wide range of sources, including parliamentary papers, contemporary letters, diaries and account books, and official records such as those relating to the Poor Law and the courts. It provides a fascinating overview of all aspects of rural life - from employment to home conditions, education, charity, crime, the role of religion and the influence of politics - during a critical period in English history.

In 1931, domestic service remained the largest female occupation in Britain; now only the rich can afford full-time resident staff and most of those engaged in domestic duties work in hotels or in public institutions. By using reminiscences, official records and newspaper reports this book considers the changing face of domestic service.

Using first-hand accounts and reminiscences by former servants from Lancashire, Liverpool, Manchester, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Scotland and Wales, as well as official records and newspaper reports, this is a study of Life Below Stairs from 1900 to the new millennium.