Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Moral reform in the 1780s: the making of an agenda; 2. 'The best means of national safety': Moral reform in wartime, 1795–1815; 3. Taming the masses, 1815–34; 4. From social control to self-control, 1834–57; 5. Moral individualism: the renewal and reappraisal of an ideal, 1857–80; 6. The late Victorian crisis of moral reform: the 1880s and after.

Promotional Information

This 2004 book is an exploration of the volunteer networks for moral reforms of late Georgian and Victorian England.

About the Author

M. J. D. Roberts is Associate Professor in the Department of Modern History, Macquarie University, Sydney. He is the author of numerous articles on volunteer association in religious and philanthropic life of the 18th and 19th centuries, and has held visiting fellowships at the Universities of Adelaide and of Edinburgh, and at All Souls College, Oxford.

Reviews

"Roberts has performed a valuable service...[A] solid, stimulating book..." T.L. Crosby, Wheaton College, CHOICE "...this study is an important exploration of a form of civic engagement, outside the organized structures of government but within the wider polity." - American Historical Review, Penelope J. Corfield, University of London "This is an extremly fine and thoughtful book, based on an impressive range of sources...It is bursting wiht ideas and information based on a colossal amount of reading and research." Victorian Studies Susan Mumm, The Open University