Working and Caring over the Twentieth Century: Change and Continuity in Four-Generation Families (Future of Work)

Increased longevity and better health are changing the nature of family life. In the context of changes in the world of work, increased divorce and a declining welfare state, multi-generation or 'beanpole families' are a potential resource for family support. Focusing on four-generation families and the two central careers of the life course - employment and care - Working and Caring Over the Twentieth Century explores this question. Based upon new research that employed biographical methods, it maps in detail from 1910 to the late 1990s the lives of men and women as great-grandparents, grandparents and parents. The book provides unique insights into processes of change and continuity in family lives and the ways in which different generations of men and women make sense of their lives.

JULIA BRANNEN is Professor of Sociology of the Family, Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London, UK. She has researched and written about family lives of parents, children and young people in both Britain and Europe and has a particular interest in the relation between paid work and family life. She has published widely on these topics and is co-founder and co-editor of the International Journal of Social Research Methodology.

PETER MOSS has been a researcher for many years at the Thomas Coram Research Unit and is Professor of Early Childhood Provision at the Institute of Education, University of London, UK.

ANN MOONEY is a Senior Research Officer at the Thomas Coram Research Unit at the University of London, UK. She has extensive research experience and has undertaken studies on maternal employment, childcare and informal care.