Writing across the Social Spectrum

Focusing on the impact of the Industrial Revolution in Northern England, this book examines how societal changes influenced literacy and social mobility through the lens of personal letters from various social strata. Utilizing previously unknown letter collections, it sheds light on the educational opportunities available to the elite, middling sort, and labouring poor between 1820 and 1850. This pioneering study in English socio-historical linguistics explores language variation and change across all societal layers, offering a unique perspective on the standardization of English and its implications for everyday language use.