- ISBN13: 9780140136241
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
A study which combines personal reminiscences with careful historical research, the myth of the ‘good old days’ is summarily dispensed with; Robert Roberts describes the period of his childhood, when the main affect of poverty in Edwardian Salford was degredation, and, despite great resources of human courage, few could escape such a prison…. More >>
The Classic Slum: Salford Life in the First Quarter of the Century
The Classic Slum, is a good piece of historical writing for its intended audience the facts are present and largely have to be accepted, although given the means to validate them, I expect they would be accurate. Roberts writing has been clearly limited up to the time of his parent’s death, which seems to have been a definite decision on where the book should end. By using this limit effectively and creating some fascinating dialogue Roberts has succeeded in writing about a dreary Salford slum in a light and sometimes-funny way.
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Rating: 3 / 5
This book looks back to Edwardian English society. The author happens to have grown up during this time and gives a vivid account of the “Working Class” society in which he lived. A must read for someone who is interested in British history.
Rating: 5 / 5
I was raised to be an anglophile, and revere all things British. I still do, but I’m wiser about it now. Mr Roberts, who worked as a reading instructor in British prisons, gives an honest and not unaffectionate account of a seriously-mismanaged society. It’s also very much a personal memoir of the author’s parents and the world he lived in. It is here that we learn how England became what it is today, and that both the welfare state and communism had legitimate roots. Salford was not a pleasant place to live back then: in many respects, it was terrifying. Be sure to read the two extra sections at the end. One is a sobering account of the life of a man who did the same job in the same machine shop for decades–yet it is a true celebration of work and life.
Rating: 5 / 5