Customs in Common
Studies in Traditional Popular Culture
E. P. Thompson
- The
- “meticulously
- researched,
- elegantly
- argued
- and
- deeply
- humane”
- sequel
- to
- the
- landmark
- volume
- of
- social
- history,
- The
- Making
- of
- the
- English
- Working
- Class
- (The
- New
- York
- Times
- Book
- Review).This
- remarkable
- study
- investigates
- the
- gradual
- disappearance
- of
- a
- range
- of
- cultural
- customs
- against
- the
- backdrop
- of
- the
- great
- upheavals
- of
- the
- eighteenth
- century.
- As
- villagers
- were
- subjected
- to
- a
- legal
- system
- increasingly
- hostile
- to
- custom,
- they
- tried
- both
- to
- resist
- and
- to
- preserve
- tradition,
- becoming,
- as
- E.
- P.
- Thompson
- explains,
- “rebellious,
- but
- rebellious
- in
- defense
- of
- custom.”
- Although
- some
- historians
- have
- written
- of
- riotous
- peasants
- of
- England
- and
- Wales
- as
- if
- they
- were
- mainly
- a
- problem
- for
- magistrates
- and
- governments,
- for
- Thompson
- it
- is
- the
- rulers,
- landowners,
- and
- governments
- who
- were
- a
- problem
- for
- the
- people,
- whose
- exuberant
- culture
- preceded
- the
- formation
- of
- working-class
- institutions
- and
- consciousness.Essential
- reading
- for
- all
- those
- intrigued
- by
- English
- history,
- Customs
- in
- Common
- has
- a
- special
- relevance
- today,
- as
- traditional
- economies
- are
- being
- replaced
- by
- market
- economies
- throughout
- the
- world.
- The
- rich
- scholarship
- and
- depth
- of
- insight
- in
- Thompson’s
- work
- offer
- many
- clues
- to
- understanding
- contemporary
- changes
- around
- the
- globe.“[This]
- long-awaited
- collection
- .
- .
- .
- is
- a
- signal
- contribution
- .
- .
- .
- [from]
- the
- person
- most
- responsible
- for
- inspiring
- the
- revival
- of
- American
- labor
- history
- during
- the
- past
- thirty
- years.”
- —The
- Nation“This
- book
- signals
- the
- return
- to
- historical
- writing
- of
- one
- of
- the
- most
- eloquent,
- powerful
- and
- independent
- voices
- of
- our
- time.
- At
- his
- best
- he
- is
- capable
- of
- a
- passionate,
- sardonic
- eloquence
- which
- is
- unequalled.”
- —The Observer
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