Useful Toil: Autobiographies of Working People from the 1820s to the 1920s

This is an unparalleled look inside the real life of working class Britons from ranging from just before the start of the Victorian era to just post WWI. While many of the pieces are excerpts from larger works, they still are both highly engaging and very enlightening, both as social history and as an insider view of labor and labor movements. The editor gives just enough info to put the pieces in context, but otherwise lets the writers' works stand on their own. As a primary source, or just enjoyable autobiographical reading, this is super. I strongly recommend if anything about working class history appeals to you.