Sir: In his review of my Poverty and she Industrial
Revolution (27 Febru'ary) R. M. Hartwell says that I should have done more than sim- ply quote the 'optimists'—that is, those modern economic historians who share his opinion that the In- dustrial Revolution brought benefit to the poor at the time—in my bibliography; I ought to have 'ex- plicitly recognised their work and tried to come to terms with it'. Let me reassure him: I have. It did not seem to be that I could include a discussion of the optimist v pessi- mist controversy, in which he has played so leading a part, in my book, which was 'concerned with attitudes and policies at the time of the Industrial Revolution, not with later interpretations; but an article which I have written on the controversy is due to appear in a coming issue of Encounter.
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