Introduction; Framing self-improvement: definitions and problems; 'Smitten by the love of knowledge': improvement in early Victorian Birmingham; 'Our excelsior class': creating citizens in mid-Victorian Birmingham; Reform and reputation: education, citizenship and municipal improvement 1870-1900; Civilizing 'the coming race': the attenuation of adult improvement, 1900-1914; Conclusion: the fortunes of improvement; Bibliography; Index
