Robert Owen: Owen of New Lanark and New Harmony

by Ian Donnachie

Robert Owen was one of the most important and controversial figures of his generation. Born in 1771, he lived through the Age of Revolutions and was personally touched the ideas and dramatic changes that characterised that era. Profiting enormously through the first half of his lifetime from the rise of industry, he devoted much of his time thereafter to espousing social and economic philosophy which could serve as a corrective to what he saw as the;excesses' of progress. Much of this derived from his own experience in managing cotton mills and strongly emphasised the importance of environment, education and, ultimately, co-operation.He gained fame - even notoriety - as a social reformer, applying radical ideas in the mills at New Lanark, and subsequently at the experimental community of New Harmony, Indiana, USA. Long after his death in 1858 his ideas continued to inspire others.

Genres: History, Politics

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

About the author

Ian Donnachie is Emeritus Professor in History. An economist-turned-historian, he worked as a researcher at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, before moving to what is now Napier University, Edinburgh. He then joined The Open University. He has also taught at Deakin University, Victoria and the University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This very thorough history of an important reformer reads like a college text. It is not a casual read, but rather a scholarly presentation of the life of Robert Owen.

[Peter Cooke]

I knew quite a bit of what he did in basic terms but this explained it a lot better. Very interesting

[Adeptus Fringilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good and interesting book. It's written in an engaging style and doesn't get boring without loosing its academic appeal. It's not always objective. But I really enjoyed reading up on our industrial history and one of the characters that influnced industry, even today still.

[Nick Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Academic bio of the 19th century social reformer.