The Quakers - James Walvin

In Georgian and Victorian Britain, the Quakers were a power in the land. They started as just another humble sect, reviled and persecuted on all sides, but emerged to exercise a vast influence.;Quakers were frugal and industrious, and maintained a steady vigilance over each other's commercial affairs. It proved an ideal system for business: they trusted and helped each other, and many of the hazards of financial dealing were minimized. Gradually they came to dominate key industries, from iron-making to chemicals, from pharmaceuticals to banking. Barclays, Lloyds, Price Waterhouse, Swan Hunter, Clarks Shoes, Huntley and Palmer, Cadbury, Fry's and Rowntree, all have Quaker origins, as do a range of other household names.;As Quakers declined in number but continued to intermarry, their success increased still further. Most remained austere but charitable, but in the end the lure of prosperity tempted a few to harsh measures or sharp practice or to un-Quaker-like comfort and glamour.;This book tells the story of their permanent impact on Britain.