James Taylor

James Taylor is Professor in Modern British History at Lancaster University. His work explores the cultural, political, and legal dimensions of economic change in Britain since the 1700s.

James is interested in the financialisation of everyday life. His current project examines the development of saving – as exhortation, practice, and habit – in the nineteenth century. 

James has authored or co-authored five monographs. The most recent, Sexism in the City: Women Stockbrokers in Modern Britain (Oxford University Press, 2025), reframes the historical development of finance by decentring male-monopolised institutions and focusing instead on women’s hitherto overlooked roles as financial intermediaries.