Crucible Books

Britain was the world’s first industrial economy and society. The industrial revolution – and the modern world – began here. In the textile mills of Derbyshire and Lancashire, in the pioneering iron and steel industries of Coalbrookdale and Sheffield, and in the mining industries of Yorkshire and South Wales a whole new way of living and working evolved which were to change human society for ever.

For almost three hundred years the twin processes of industrialisation and urbanisation have been shaping our world. And this provides the broad subject matter for Crucible Books.

Under this imprint we are publishing broad-ranging overviews, including a study of the Industrial Revolution in Britain by Barrie Trinder. We are also commissioning books about individual industries, such as ship-building by Prof. A. Slaven, railways and coal mining. Alongside these are individual company histories, such as Kenneth D. Brown’s ‘Factory of Dreams’: A History of Meccano Ltd.

Academic editor for the series is Professor John F. Wilson, now of the University of Liverpool. If you would like to discuss a book idea with him, email John directly.

Company histories

Individual company histories can give a fascinating insight into our industrial past. As well as publishing books such as ‘Factory of Dreams’: A History of Meccano Ltd or Ferranti: A History which will be of interest to a general readership, we are also interested in publishing histories of businesses and companies which are designed as part of their marketing strategies: we might, for instance, publish a book about your company if you want a marketing tool, or if you want to mark an important milestone such as 100 years in business.

In the first instance email Alistair with an outline of what you would like to see published about your company. You may also want to take a look at our book design services over at Carnegie Book Design.