London’s Working-Class Youth and the Making of Post-Victorian Britain, 1958–1971

Felix Fuhg is Research Associate at the Center for Metropolitan Studies at the Technical University Berlin, Germany.

• 1. Introduction.- PART I: SOCIETY.- 2. ‘Vulgar Nincompoops’ and ‘Sawdust Caesars’: Generations, adolescence, and the historicity of youth culture in post-war debates.- 3. ‘First I Look At The Purse’: Youth at work.- PART II: CITY.- 4. Mods, working-class youth and London’s way of becoming a modern post-war metropolis.- 5. Working-class youth and the social transformation of post-war London.- PART III: POP.- 6. Making Britain great again: Popular culture and the British invasion.- 7. Cultural renewal and the transnational fashion industry.- PART IV: SPACE.- 8. The creation and use of public space.- 9. Leisure venues: London by day and by night.

“Fuhg and Brown have written innovative studies that make a significant contribution to the existing historiography. They demonstrate that the spatial turn helps to enhance our understanding of the 1960s and, more broadly, of the conditions in which cultural innovation thrives. … both studies hold lessons for anyone who is interested in, and concerned about, the future of the creative arts in the climate of fiscal austerity and puritanical righteousness that … define our present. They deserve a wide readership.” (Jörg Arnold, German Historical Institute London Bulletin, Vol. 45 (1), May, 2023)