Himmelfarb, Gertrude. "The Unknown Mayhew, by Eileen Yeo and E.P. Thompson." Commentary Magazine. 1971.

Abstract:

The historian who does not subscribe to the creed of “relevance,” who believes, indeed, that the best history is written without thought of contemporary relevance, is embarrassed by the occasions when history seems to be all too relevant. In this respect, 19th-century England is a constant source of embarrassment. With the best will in the world, one cannot confront that period, and particularly the social history of the period, without experiencing a recurrent shock of recognition. Some historians never recover from that shock. For them the Victorians are not only our forefathers but also our contemporaries; their social problems are ours, their attempts to cope with them are, for good or bad, an object lesson to us.

Read on Commentary Magazine: The Unknown Mayhew, by Eileen Yeo and E.P. Thompson