Originally published in 1983, this book filled a gap in the existing literature, because the effect of credit upon a family’s real income was frequently omitted in studies of living standards. The book highlights daily routines and relationships which would otherwise remain hidden, using interviews with pawnbrokers, credit personnel and their customers in the Manchester and Salford areas of the UK. These supplement unusual documentary sources such as pledge records from the inter-war years which suggest how sensitive a barometer the trade was of working-class poverty or prosperity.

The pawnshop epitomized the economic dependence of women, whose critical role in domestic management and credit organization is a key theme. Yet indebtedness became the fulfilment of a damning sexual stereotype. Insecurity of income and the physical conditions of life combined to produce a distinct set of values, of which pawning was a central part. At a time when the cost-of-living crisis is affecting the global population, and pawnbroking in the UK is on the increase, this book has an enduring relevance.