THE STORY OF Josiah Wedgwood has often been told, so that even I, although far from being an historian, am familiar with its outlines; but this has not prevented me from enjoying Brian Dolan's scholarly and sympathetic book. Indeed, it has moved me far more than I expected.

What a story it is! In 1730, when Josiah was born, a Staffordshire 'pot works' was likely to consist of one or two wattle-and-daub hovels and one grey stone 'pot-oven', and there might not even be a donkey to carry the primitive jugs and dishes it produced to the market.