Working Like A Dog, and a Horse, and a Cow in 18th Century London with Tom Almeroth-Williams

Making of a Historian

Check out full show notes--including book lists on our website at historian.live This week we discuss Tom Almeroth-Williams’ book, City of Beasts—now out in a reasonably priced paperback—which looks at how people and animals worked together in 18th century London. We talk about cows, horses, the great geese herds of Christmastime, and why people in London sometimes just wanted to spend some time outside on their horses. The conversation is really fun—as is Almeroth-Williams’ book. But it’s serious, too. In taking an animal perspective of labor in 18th century London, Almeroth-Williams’ pushes us to change the way we look at the Industrial Revolution, social life, and consumer society.