Throughout human history, the Industrial Revolution stands out somewhat. From millions of years of subsistence existence, a few thousand of basic civilisation with widespread poverty, suddenly an explosion of wealth that at first glance comes from nowhere. It is economic history’s ultimate child prodigy.

As a person, it would be the woollen jumper-clad, floppy-haired and bespectacled young individual who single-handedly makes Esperanto the world’s mother tongue, builds a time machine and solves Brexit all in the same evening. Or at least we think - time travel, remember.

Dr Stephen Davies’ latest book examines how this bright young thing came to be and how it created what we call ‘modernity’. So, what is ‘modernity’? Davies attempts to provide some clarity.

He makes clear that one of the defining characteristics of modernity is innovation, a familiar echo of the ideas espoused by the likes of economic historian Deirdre McCloskey. Nonetheless, he is quick to point out that while McCloskey claims it was a culture of entrepreneurship that brought about the Industrial Revolution, such high regard for business was not exclusive to 18th century Britain.

Exclusivity to 18th century Britain is a natural line of inquiry for anyone reading about this phenomenon and most history books on this topic are based on the question of why Britain and why the late 18th century.

His focus on the ruling class makes clear and reminds us that for most of history, those who ‘gain resources through predation of various kinds’ often rule over those who ‘gain resources through production or trade’. This distinction is seminal to the whole book.