A useful text on Scottish society and the lives of the poor in a relatively under-researched area of Scottish history ! it will undoubtedly remain a key reference for future scholars. Rosalind Mitchison's book on the Scottish poor law is the first to cover the period from the first Scottish enactment on the poor laws, to the establishment of a formal system in 1845 ... The Old Poor Law in Scotland will prove valuable to historians of poor relief and social welfare in general, because it raises many issues prevalent in both nineteenth century social reform and today. Mitchison's researches provide vivid details -- Pauline Croft Recent debates about "welfare reform" and related issues on both sides of the Atlantic give this book a timeliness not shared by all monographs on pre-industrial Scotland. A richly detailed, varied study of the experience of poverty in Scotland from 1574 to 1845." Mitichison provides a convincing description, based on parochial records, of both the administration and effectiveness of the old Scottish Poor Law... An excellent book, for upper-division undergraduates and above. -- C. L. Hamilton, formerly, Simon Fraser University Choice A useful text on Scottish society and the lives of the poor in a relatively under-researched area of Scottish history ! it will undoubtedly remain a key reference for future scholars. Rosalind Mitchison's book on the Scottish poor law is the first to cover the period from the first Scottish enactment on the poor laws, to the establishment of a formal system in 1845 ... The Old Poor Law in Scotland will prove valuable to historians of poor relief and social welfare in general, because it raises many issues prevalent in both nineteenth century social reform and today. Mitchison's researches provide vivid details Recent debates about "welfare reform" and related issues on both sides of the Atlantic give this book a timeliness not shared by all monographs on pre-industrial Scotland. A richly detailed, varied study of the experience of poverty in Scotland from 1574 to 1845." Mitichison provides a convincing description, based on parochial records, of both the administration and effectiveness of the old Scottish Poor Law... An excellent book, for upper-division undergraduates and above.
