Why read The World We Have Lost?

Book cover of The World We Have Lost

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What was life like in England before the Industrial Revolution? The World We Have Lost is widely regarded as a classic of historical writing and a vital book in reshaping our understanding of the past and the structure of family life in England.

Turning away from the prevailing fixation of…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The World We Have Lost as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

John F. Drinkwater

Author

Laslett’s book taught me the value of comparative material in studying Ancient History. Another part of the Medieval and Modern History syllabus was seventeenth-century England. Teaching was dominated by the Civil War, emphasizing its socio-economic aspects.

This book had just appeared, and I drew on it enthusiastically for my essays. It dealt with the only period of English pre-industrial history for which original documentation allows some meaningful, detailed study of ordinary life. This is not possible for Roman history, even through archaeology, but the experience of later times can be considered in studying Roman society.

For example, Laslett explored precisely…

From John's list on getting to grips with Roman imperial history.