Publications

Maxine Berg.

2nd ed, Routledge, 1994.

Overview of the technologies, processes and labour markets that underpinned the Industrial Revolution. Places the developments in steam technology in its wider socio-economic context. 

Malcolm Dick (ed).

Brewin Books, 2009.

Explores the life and work of Matthew Boulton, but includes chapters on Boulton's partnership with Watt and the application of steam power to the Soho business.

H. W. Dickinson and R. Jenkins.

Clarendon, 1927; repr. Ashbourne: Moorland, 1981.

An extensive work, which contains a detailed account of steam technology.

Dr Richard L. Hills

Landmark, 2002, 2005 and 2006.

Detailed and extensive three volume biography of Watt's life and work.

Vol 1: His Time in Scotland, 1736 - 1744

Vol 2: The Years of Toil, 1775 - 1785

Vol 3: Triumph through Adversity, 1785 - 1819

Peter M. Jones.

Manchester University Press, 2008.

Looks at the role of scientific knowledge in the process of industrialisation and drawing on the archives of Matthew Boulton's Soho Manufactory.

Paul Langford.

Oxford University Press, 1992.

General history of mid-eighteenth century England. Useful for the wider context of Watt's life and work.

Christine MacLeod.

Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Explores the industrial revolution by looking at the heroic reputation inventors enjoyed during the nineteenth century, which included James Watt.

Paul Mantoux.

Jonathan Cape, 1928; repr. Routledge, 2015.

A classic text examining the industrial revolution in detail. Includes a chapter on the steam engine.

Shena Mason (ed).

Yale University Press, 2009.

A lavishly illustrated publication with a chapter on Boulton and Watt's steam engine business at Soho.

David Philip Miller.

University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009.

Considers Watt's innovations in steam technology in relation to his interest in chemistry. 

Joel Mokyr.

Penguin Books, 2011.

Looks at the intellectual context of the Industrial Revolution and Britain's part in it.

Roger Osborne.

Pimlico, 2014.

A good general overview of the early industrial revolution and it's primary aspects, including invention, power, transport and money.

Ben Russell.

Reaktion Books, 2014.

An excellent introduction to the life and work of James Watt.

Jenny Uglow.

Faber and Faber, 2002.

A wide-range and enjoyable account of the Lunar Society.