This book illuminates the history of one of Manchester's most influential families. Charting the lives of Henry, Emily, Ernest and Shena Simon, it demonstrates their significance through tracing their work in engineering innovation, enriching Manchester's civic culture, and in shaping local government, housing and education. -- .

This book offers a reappraisal of the private lives and public work of two generations of the Simon family, who over a period of a hundred years had a powerful influence in shaping modern Manchester. It uses a combination of collective biography and wider social, cultural and political history to explore the interaction between the family and the city between the 1860s and the 1960s. By studying the family as a cross-generational unit as well as the four key individuals (Henry and Emily, Ernest and Shena), it shows how a distinctive ethos of public service underscored the family's work in business, civic activism, philanthropy and social reform. It is a fascinating case study of how one family of German origin left a lasting imprint on the city they made their home.