Lynsey Hanley was born and raised just outside of Birmingham on what was then the largest council estate in Europe, and she has lived for years on an estate in London's East End. Writing with passion, humour and a sense of history, she recounts the rise of social housing a century ago, its adoption as a fundamental right by leaders of the social welfare state in mid-century and its decline - as both idea and reality - in the 1960s and 70s. Throughout, Hanley focuses on how shifting trends in urban planning and changing government policies - from 'Homes Fit for Heroes' to Le Corbusier's concrete tower blocks, to the 'Right to Buy' - affected those so often left out of the argument over council estates: the millions of people who live on them. What emerges is a vivid mix of memoir and social history, an engaging and illuminating book about a corner of society that the rest of Britain has left in the dark.
Estates: An Intimate History
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* "A rich, thought-provoking book" Observer* "Estates, a journey through the world of British social housing, is both a history and a personal reckoning" Financial Times* "A wonderful book ... explains with verve and insight how one's mental landscape is moulded by physical environment ... Simple lessons for planners, architects and developers leap off the pages " Guardian
About the Author
Lynsey Hanley was born in Birmingham and lives in London. She writes regularly for the Observer, Telegraph, New Statesman and many others. This is her first book.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a foreigner living, working and studying in the UK in mostly well-to-do circles, my limited one-sided understanding of council estates before reading this book was that, the people living in there were lazy, that they rely on state benefits, watch TV all day and are leeches of the society.
This book has really opened my eyes about the circumstances people living on estates found themselves to be in, and made it clear that while individuals have responsibilities of their lives, their environment can trap them in and make it extremely hard to get out, and that pure meritocracy is a lie.
I found out about this book from a research project on the media portrayal of 'chavs' and this book provided a really good background. I recommend it to anyone doing research on Britain's underclass. I also recommend it to anyone holding prejudice against people living on estates. It's easy to fear and hold prejudices against something you don't know, and some understanding can help with that.
This book has really opened my eyes about the circumstances people living on estates found themselves to be in, and made it clear that while individuals have responsibilities of their lives, their environment can trap them in and make it extremely hard to get out, and that pure meritocracy is a lie.
I found out about this book from a research project on the media portrayal of 'chavs' and this book provided a really good background. I recommend it to anyone doing research on Britain's underclass. I also recommend it to anyone holding prejudice against people living on estates. It's easy to fear and hold prejudices against something you don't know, and some understanding can help with that.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By hbw
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Mention council estates to many British people and they're more likely to think of dysfunctional communities than "homes fit for heroes".
During the 20th century, public housing was meant to eradicate slums, deflect revolution, improve the health of the nation and eliminate social inequality. So what went wrong - and can it be put right?
Lynsey Hanley addresses these questions in this fascinating and often passionate account of a century of policy, ideology, greed and incompetence. What gives the book its edge, though, is the intermingling of formal history with the first hand experiences of Hanley and four generations of her family.
My only criticism is that the author doesn't really look the development of council housing in rural areas and small towns; but perhaps that's another story.
During the 20th century, public housing was meant to eradicate slums, deflect revolution, improve the health of the nation and eliminate social inequality. So what went wrong - and can it be put right?
Lynsey Hanley addresses these questions in this fascinating and often passionate account of a century of policy, ideology, greed and incompetence. What gives the book its edge, though, is the intermingling of formal history with the first hand experiences of Hanley and four generations of her family.
My only criticism is that the author doesn't really look the development of council housing in rural areas and small towns; but perhaps that's another story.
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By A. Miles
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is an important book which illuminates the lie of the New Labour meritocracy deal - in short, how can one aspire to a better lifestyle when conditions conspire to make you unaware that anything better might exist, and simultaneously rob you of any opportunity to succeed?
In my time I've lived and taught on sink estates, and if anything Hanley understates the case - I've worked with kids in The North East who at 18 had never been further than the end of the street, and moreover didn't feel any urge to. Hanley captures this well with her 'wall' metaphor.
However, worthy as it is, the mix of personal history, invective and evidence that Hanley presents is indigestible - she isn't really readable. Not the point, of course, but still so.
In my time I've lived and taught on sink estates, and if anything Hanley understates the case - I've worked with kids in The North East who at 18 had never been further than the end of the street, and moreover didn't feel any urge to. Hanley captures this well with her 'wall' metaphor.
However, worthy as it is, the mix of personal history, invective and evidence that Hanley presents is indigestible - she isn't really readable. Not the point, of course, but still so.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intimate, or inanimate?
Well written, well researched book, passionately delivered by the author. This book answers questions, is enlightening and should be in libraries up and down the country and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by TrueBrit
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating and highly readable insight into the social housing...
I was recommended this book by a friend after extolling the virtues of Owen Jones' Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class. Read more
Published 3 months ago by marge
1.0 out of 5 stars
Narcissistic, greedy and self centred rubbish
I want to state bluntly that I HATE what this author represents and the way she has expressed her views is weak. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lauren
1.0 out of 5 stars
Estate: An Intimate History
Can't comment on the whole book as I gave up after a few chapters. If your idea of fun is reading a description of every street and house on a particular estate then go ahead.
Published 4 months ago by judith bywater
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent personal account of the history of social housing
For me personally, a university student who grew up in a council estate, to read a book which was both academic and personal was refreshing. Read more
Published 14 months ago by catchasemouse
5.0 out of 5 stars
The inevitable in pursuit of the insoluble
This is an important book about the state we're in. If the reader is left wondering how it all happened at the end, this isn't really Lynsey Hanley's fault. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Peter Street
4.0 out of 5 stars
A FORGOTTEN ASPECT OF THE WELFARE STATE
I enjoyed Lynsey Hanley's social history of the council estate in modern Britain,and agreed with much that she said. Read more
Published 14 months ago by bibliophile
5.0 out of 5 stars
social history
I use this book teaching my course to undergraduates at university, but its aimed at the informed general reader. Read more
Published 21 months ago by P. S. R. Munt
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thought-provoking
A very interesting book that mixes social history with the personal experience of the author on the subject of the UK's council housing estates. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2011 by sanddancer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Estates: An Intimate History
Thanks to the snow and various other difficulties the UK appears unable to handle, this book has only reached me within the last week. Perfect condition, package undamaged. Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2011 by Lori_101
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