This early work by Beatrice Potter Webb was originally published in 1926
and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography.
'My Apprenticeship Vol. I.' is the second volume of fascinating work on
Victorian society. 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.