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This book examines the relationship between class and culture in 1930s Britain. Focusing on the reading and cinema-going tastes of the working classes, Robert James’ landmark study combines rigorous historical analysis with a close textual reading of visual and written sources to appraise the role of popular leisure in this fascinating decade.
Drawing on a wealth of original research, this lively and accessible book adds immeasurably to our knowledge of working-class leisure pursuits in this contentious period. It is a key intervention in the field, providing both an imaginative approach to the subject and an abundance of new material to analyse, thus making it an undergraduate and postgraduate ‘must-have’. It will be a particularly welcome addition for anyone interested in the fields of cultural and social history, as well as film, cultural and literary studies.
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Contents
Introduction
1. ‘The people’s amusement’: The growth in cinema-going and reading habits
2. ‘Fouling civilisation’? official attitudes towards popular film and literature
3. Trade attitudes towards audience taste
4. Working-class tastes: national trends in film popularity
5. Working-class tastes: national trends in literature popularity
6. Working-class tastes: South Wales Miners’ Institutes
7. Working-class tastes: Derby
8. Working-class tastes: Portsmouth
9. Popular film and literature: textual analyses
Conclusion: ‘Giving the public what it wants’
Bibliography
Appendices:
I Broader patterns of film popularity
II Sidney Bernstein questionnaires, 1932 and 1934: Pre-report material
III Patterns of literature popularity
Index