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Palgrave Macmillan

Men at Work

The Working Man in British Culture, 1939–1945

  • Book
  • © 2015

Overview

Authors:
  1. Linsey Robb

    1. University of Strathclyde, UK

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Part of the book series: Genders and Sexualities in History (GSX)

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Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
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  2. Finding the Lost Working Man

    • Linsey Robb
    Pages 1-16

  3. Digging For Victory: Farming in Wartime Culture

    • Linsey Robb
    Pages 17-39

  4. The Attack Begins in the Factory: The Male Industrial Worker in Wartime Culture

    • Linsey Robb
    Pages 40-75

  5. Heroes on the Home Front: Firefighting in Wartime Culture

    • Linsey Robb
    Pages 76-100

  6. For Those in Peril on the Sea: The Merchant Navy in Wartime Culture

    • Linsey Robb
    Pages 101-129

  7. All in It Together?: Reflections on the Masculine Hierarchy

    • Linsey Robb
    Pages 130-135

  8. Back Matter

    Pages 136-165
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Keywords

About this book

Men at Work explores the cultural portrayal of four essential wartime occupations: agriculture, industry, firefighting and the mercantile marine. In analysing a broad spectrum of wartime media (most notably film, radio and visual culture) it establishes a clear hierarchy of masculine roles in British culture during the Second World War.

Reviews

“Robb’s book does what many other studies of war and masculinity do not: it engages with the combined presence (or absence) of men and women, thus exploring gender relations rather than merely studying men and manhood. … Men at Work thus recovers the history of civilian men during the war for the benefit of historians of masculinity and illustrates the way that the war changed popular representations of men. … a valuable contribution to the history of masculinities and war.” (Mark Rothery, Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 52 (1), January, 2017)

“Working to fill a gap in the knowledge of men's experiences on the home front, historian Robb (Univ. of Strathclyde) explores how civilian men were portrayed to the British populace. … This book helps readers see that men were at home and providing important support for the wareffort. … this is undoubtedly a useful contribution to the studies of masculinity and WW II. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.” (R. J. Bates, Choice, Vol. 53 (10), June, 2016)

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Strathclyde, UK

    Linsey Robb

About the author

Linsey Robb is a cultural and social historian based at the University of Strathclyde, UK. She has predominantly published on the representations, experiences and memories of civilian men during the Second World War.

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