Invisible Men : The Secret Lives of Police Constables in Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham, 1900-1939

This book provides a comprehensive study of English police constables walking the beat in the early part of the twentieth century. Joanne Klein has mined a rich seam of archival evidence to present a fascinating insight into the everyday lives of these working-class men. The book explores how constables influenced law enforcement and looks at the changing nature of policing during this period.

‘This book is greatly to be welcomed. Based on research from little-known provincial police archives, it provides a major addition to our knowledge of working-class life and work in general, and the life and work of the English police officer in particular. It explores police relations with the public, the varied arrangements of the Bobby’s domestic life, and the vicissitudes of his working life from the moment that he first put his uniform on, to when he finally took it off as a result of death, dismissal, resignation or retirement. The book is just what good history should be – well-researched, persuasively argued and a pleasure to read.’
Professor Clive Emsley, Open University.

‘This is an excellent book. It is well-written and extremely interesting, filling a gap in an historical literature, which is dominated by official and institutional perspectives, by illuminating the daily and working lives of constables.’
Professor Lucinda McCray Beier, Appalachian State University

Joanne Klein is Associate Professor of History at Boise State University, Boise, Idaho.