Watchful Clothier

A clothier and a deeply religious man, Joseph Ryder faithfully kept a diary from 1733 until his death, two and a half million words later,in 1768. Recently rediscovered and brilliantlyinterpreted by historian Matthew Kadane, Ryder's diary provides an illuminating, real-life perspective on the relationship between capitalism and Protestantism at a time whenBritain was rapidly changing from a traditional toa modernsociety. It also provides fascinating insights on the early modern family, the birth of industrialization, the history of Puritanism, the origins of Unitarianism, melancholy,and the making of the British middle class.