Sandie McHugh

We all aspire to happiness, but happiness in Bolton? In the 1930s, the Mass Observation Happiness Project researched Bolton (anonymised as Worktown). The extensive papers from this exercise provide a vivid insight into the joys and disappointments of ordinary people in pre-War Bolton. This book looks at how have the dramatic changes since then have affected the aspirations of Boltonians and their perception of the good life. The Editors (themselves Boltonians) have assembled 15 chapters from 19 authors all active in the Bolton of today. These authors offer a diversity of insights into happiness. They look at the importance of exercise and fitness, the role of leisure and the part music plays in happiness. Art can enable happiness through expression of creativity. Religion can be a pathway to happiness, and forgiveness can aid recovery from despair. Addiction – often a barrier to happiness – can be conquered. Happiness matters at all stages in life. Two chapters outline programmes for schools. Social factors are shown to be important for adults in community groups. The northern theme is reinforced with details of the character and culture of ‘Northerners’. Results from a recent research study on the differences between the North and South are revealed. A repetition of the 1930s Mass Observation study highlights changes in aspirations since then. Suggestions on the way forward for the experience of happiness round off the book. Happiness in a Northern Town is a collection of different perspectives into happiness and wellbeing. It offers hope in overcoming barriers to happiness not only in Bolton but beyond.

This book shines a light on the meaning of happiness and how public perceptions of it have changed over time. A question that has engaged philosophers from the days of Aristotle, happiness is a subject of growing academic interest, and its recent integration into government policy is provoking increased debate into its definition and nature. Sandie McHugh and her associates build on the work of social anthropologist Tom Harrison’s ‘Worktown’ Mass Observation study from 1938, repeating the original study today. Together these accounts show how perceptions of happiness have changed over the years for the people of Bolton, UK, and reveal major difference between its definition then and now. This unique study is a useful tool in the understanding and study of happiness, offering invaluable insights for scholars and practitioners working in the fields of social psychology, positive psychology, health psychology and wellbeing.