By studying the temperance societies that flourished in late Victorian and Edwardian England, this book opens a window through which we can view middle-class and working-class society. Such societies provided the backbone for temperance both as a social movement and a political lobby. Most temperance societies became aligned with the Liberal Party in support of prohibition by Local Veto. A few allowed members to drink, but most were committed to total abstinence. There were organizations of middle-class men, of workingmen and their wives, of women, and of children and youth. The largest adult society was affiliated with the Church of England, but most societies were identified with Nonconformist denominations.

Drink, 'the curse of Britain', was sweeping the land, or so it seemed to many Englishmen in the early decades of the nineteenth century. They held it responsible for crime, poverty and many other ills of the rapidly industrializing towns. A 'moderation' temperance reform organized in 1829 largely under middle class auspices soon gave way to a radical commitment to total abstinence in a great variety of worker self-help groups. When these too failed to change the drinking habits of most Englishmen the temperance movement sought new alliances. In the 1870s and 1880s Gospel Temperance married temperance to revivalist religion. It received the support of both established and non-conformist churches, and millions 'took the pledge'. But many did not; and as religious enthusiasm faded the anti-drink forces shifted their attention to the political arena. After successfully pressuring the Liberal Party to adopt limited prohibition, they mounted a great but unsuccessful campaign in the 1895 election. With this defeat the anti-drink crusade disintegrated, leaving the dedicated teetotallers socially isolated in the safe haven of their drink-free subculture.

This new edition of a pioneering work, first published in 1971, studies the impact of industrialization on drinking habits and attitudes toward drink in England. The book had a major impact on writing about nineteenth-century social history, and continues today to be a much-used resource. This revised edition includes new material and assesses research done since 1971. It also features a fresh introduction which examines the book's place in the understanding of Victorian social history.

"One of the lesser known aspects of industrialization in nineteenth-century England is its impact on people's drinking habits and on their attitudes to drink. This pioneering study analyzes the role of drink in England between 1815 and 1872 and investigates the motives and methods of the reformers who tried to combat the widespread drunkenness prevalent at that time..." - Book jacket.

This book is a collection of biographies of leaders in the temperance movement: Margaret Fison, Sir Thomas Whittaker, Arthur Sherwell, Jessie Forsyth and Guy Hayler. All five of the forgotten temperance reformers were prolific writers. Recovering the lives and works of these forgotten women and men enhances our understanding of the temperance movement. This book will be of special interest for anyone interested in the lost history of social movements, academics and researchers.