Originally written for undergraduates, this posthumously published collection of lectures from 1884 tackles many of the misconceptions held by nineteenth-century economists. Where other commentators often dealt with the subject of the Industrial Revolution in the abstract, Arnold Toynbee applies here an evidence-based approach, with astute but also entertaining results.

Arnold Toynbee (1852-1883) was an English economic historian also noted for his social commitment and desire to improve the living conditions of the working classes. In 1873, he began to study political economy at Oxford University, first at Pembroke College and from 1875 at Balliol College, where he went on to teach after his graduation in 1878. His lectures on the history of the Industrial Revolution in 18th and 19th century Britain proved widely influential. He popularised the term "Industrial Revolution" in the Anglophone world. He was actively involved in improving the living conditions of the proletariat. He read for workers in large industrial centres and encouraged the creation of trade unions and co-operatives. Toynbee also encouraged his students to offer free courses for working class audiences in their own neighbourhoods.