Snakes and Ladders

The great British social mobility myth

Professor Selina Todd

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Paperback

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English

Vintage
10 December 2022

Social & cultural history; Social mobility; Social classes; Political control & freedoms

Politicians say social mobility is real - a just reward for ambition and hard work. This book proves otherwise.

'Intensely readable... A stimulating and necessary redress' David Kynaston, Spectator

Politicians say social mobility is real... this book proves otherwise.

From servants' children who became clerks in Victorian Britain, to managers made redundant by the 2008 financial crash, travelling up or down the social ladder has been a fact of British life for more than a century.

Drawing on hundreds of personal stories, Snakes and Ladders tells the hidden history of how people have really experienced that social mobility in both directions. It shows how a powerful elite on the top rungs have clung to their perch, as well as introducing us to the unsung heroes who created more room at the top. As we face political crisis after crisis, Snakes and Ladders argues that only by creating greater opportunities for everyone to thrive can we ensure the survival of our society.

'A fascinating, important book' Mail on Sunday

'A trove of stories of human hope and disappointment' New Statesman

'Fascinating... A rich and well-observed historical account' Financial Times

By: Professor Selina Todd
Imprint: Vintage
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 200mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 381g
ISBN: 9781784703479
ISBN 10: 1784703478
Pages: 448
Publication Date: 10 December 2022
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Selina Todd is Professor of Modern History at Oxford University. She grew up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and was educated at Heaton Manor Comprehensive School and the Universities of Warwick and Sussex. She writes about class, inequality, working-class history, feminism and women's lives in modern Britain. Her book The People- The Rise and Fall of the Working Class 1910-2010 was a Sunday Times bestseller and was described by the Observer as 'A book we badly need'. Based on the voices of working-class people themselves, it charted the history of ordinary workers, housewives, children and pensioners over the turbulent twentieth century.

Reviews for Snakes and Ladders: The great British social mobility myth

"The great strength of Selina Todd's Snakes and Ladders . . . is the richness of her presentation of it as a lived experience, whether upwards or downwards . . . intensely readable . . . a stimulating and necessary redress -- David Kynaston * Spectator * In this fascinating, important book, Professor Selina Todd shows us that 'levelling up' has always been a far more chancy, even unrewarding, business than we like to think -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday * Structured around the personal stories of people who have experienced upward social mobility over the past 140 years or so . . . The social history that Todd deals with here is fascinating . . . The pandemic, as she argues, has reminded us that the jobs we reward are often not those that matter most. So instead of (or as well as) agonising about who gets to join the elite, we need to redefine the elite itself -- David Aaronovich * The Times * Snakes and Ladders arrives at a moment of particular relevance . . . this pandemic is an opportunity to look at what is ""essential"" in work and to reward it appropriately. Society is only as mobile as its structures allow. And it would be no bad thing if affording status to all strata of society became more important than ""getting ahead"" -- Andrew Anthony * Observer * Fascinating... [Snakes & Ladders is a] rich and well-observed historical account -- David Willetts * Financial Times *"