My latest release, Young Workers of the IndustrialAge, will be published on 30 October! 

It's currently on special offer at Pen and Sword, or alternatively you can buy it on Amazon UK. 

American readers can pre-order it here on Amazon US - it will be released in the USA on 30November. 

The Great Exhibition, 1851.Once upon a time, in the reign of Queen Victoria, afairytale palace of glass was built. 

The Great Exhibition of 1851 showed thewonders of Britain’s industry and empire.

But there was a dark truth behind this glittering display.Great Britain’s industrial might was built on the backs of men, women andlittle children.

In A Welsh Coal Mine.

Children of all ages worked day and night. They toiled in the silkmills, cotton factories and bleachworks. 

They toiled beneath theground in coal mines, far from the light of day. And they toiled in the darkheart of the glasshouses, lit only by the blaze of the furnaces.

Children worked on the land, too. Their work, like helpingbring in the harvest. was regulated by the seasons. 

The Gleaner, 1830s. 

It was incredible just how many different trades andindustries used child labour in Britain. Children also worked in people's homes as domesticservants.

Over the next few blog posts, I’ll be taking a look at someof these occupations, and the perils that children faced in some of them.

All images from the author's collection.