Urban Fortunes: Property and Inheritance in the Town, 1700-1900

This collection of articles represents a wide range of approaches to and perspective on the ownership, use and transmission of property in 18th and 19th-century towns. An introductory essay highlights the importance of property and inheritance in shaping social, cultural economic and political structures and interactions within and between towns and cities. Writing from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, the contributos then explore in detail the changing meaning of property to households and individuals; the social, economic and geographical contexts of inheritance practices; the geography of wealth; the role of gender in shaping property relations and, perhaps above all, the enduring link between property, the family and the household in urban contexts.