Made in Manchester

Manchester was the ‘shock city’ of the Industrial Revolution. Visitors from foreign lands such as Engels and Tocqueville saw in it a foretaste of the world’s future – whether for prosperity or starvation, no-one could tell. It was a centre for radical movements such as Chartism, but also the Anti-Corn Law League which made free trade Britain’s economic orthodoxy. From the Romans to Oasis, economic rise to decline to recent recovery, and taking in soldiers, scientists, industrialists, campaigners and composers, this is the rich and vivid story of Manchester.