Holiday legislation as remedy

The chapter analyses parliamentary papers, documents from labour unions, moralist writings, and publications in the press in order to enquire into how political and legislative actors in late-nineteenth-century Britain sought to legitimize workers’ holidays. It gives special attention to the ways in which medical knowledge—with its newly gained authority—and the shift in interest from physical to emotional conditions influenced approaches to working hours, leisure time, and holiday legislation. The chapter details the ways in which shifting perceptions of health, class, gender, and emotions influenced legislation; this stands in contrast to previous research, which focused on the effect of economic interests and conditions. Similarly, it discusses how the pathologization of ‘the worker’ by the medical community helped make legislation more egalitarian and how it ultimately facilitated the inclusion of the working classes into the established middle-class holiday culture. The chapter asserts that holiday legislation gave concrete expression to a new understanding of emotions and work that ultimately took the form of particular rights. In this sense, it analyses the overlap between the emotional economy and the moral economy, revealing the relation between contested views on the significance of emotions and the legitimation of certain social practices. Furthermore, the chapter addresses a question that has been overlooked in extant research: ‘Why were watering places considered the ideal destination for workers’ holidays?’ It elucidates the influential role played by the traditional therapeutic view of watering places in converting spa and seaside resorts into major holiday destinations for all social classes.