Snakes and ladders : the great British social mobility myth

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, this book tells the hidden history of how people have really experienced that social mobility - both upwards and down. It shows how a powerful elite on the top rungs have clung to their perch and prevented others ascending. It also introduces the unsung heroes who created more room at the top - among them adult educators, feminists and trade unionists, whose achievements unleashed the hidden talents of thousands of people.