First Published in 1995. The study of the middle classes actually poses a variety of interesting challenges. Traditionally, the social scientific gaze has been directed either downwards, to the working classes, the poor and the dispossessed, or upwards, to the wealthy and powerful. For all these reasons, a collection of original papers on various aspects of the British middle classes seems an important venture that will cast valuable light on the course of social change in Britain more generally. This book is designed to bring together a series of accessible, high-quality research papers on various aspects of the British middle classes.

Tim Butler is Principal Lecturer in Sociology at the University of East London. His research interests are in the fields of urban sociology and stratification. Mike Savage is Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester and has an associate position at the University of North Carolina, USA. He was previously Reader in Sociology at Keele University.