Taking the Hard Road is an engaging history of growing up in
working-class families in France and Germany during the Industrial
Revolution. Based on a reading of ninety autobiographical accounts
of childhood and adolescence, the book explores the far-reaching
historical transformations associated with the emergence of modern
industrial capitalism. According to Mary Jo Maynes, the aspects of
private life revealed in these accounts played an important role in
historical development by actively shaping the authors' social,
political, and class identities. The stories told in these memoirs
revolve around details of everyday life: schooling, parent-child
relations, adolescent sexuality, early experiences in the
workforce, and religious observances. Maynes uses demographics,
family history, and literary analysis to place these details within
the context of historical change. She also draws comparisons
between French and German texts, men's and women's accounts, and
narratives of social mobility and political militancy.