This early work by Beatrice Potter Webb was originally published in 1903
and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography.
'History of Liquor Licensing in England Principally from 1700 to 1830'
is a fascinating work on legal history in relation to the sale of
alcohol. Beatrice Potter Webb was born in Gloucester, England in 1858.
Both her mother and brother died early in her childhood leaving her to
be raised by her father, Richard Potter. He was a successful businessman
with large railroad interests and many influential friends in politics
and industry whose company the young Beatrice would become accustomed
to. Upon reaching adulthood, Potter moved to London and helped her
cousin, Charles, a social reformer, research his book The Life and
Labour of the People in London. It was during this time that she was
introduced to Sidney James Webb, who later became her husband and
collaborator. The Webb's, together, wrote eleven volumes of work which
arguably shaped the way subsequent scholars thought about sociology.
They also collaborated on more than 100 books and articles on the
conditions of factory workers, and the economic history of Britain,
among other subjects.