From a core sample of over two hundred self-taught individuals, this study charts the origins, growth and development of an autodidact culture from the end of the eighteenth century through to the early twentieth century. Though to some extent concentrated on Lancashire, examples taken from other areas of Britain are fully integrated, giving this thesis a national perspective. In the first chapter the discourses which surrounded an autodidact culture during the nineteenth century are examined. These discourses not only establish the legitimacy of the historical study of autodidacticism, but offer a first insight into the nature of self-taught culture. A review of the secondary literature on autodidacticism reveals a lack of attention to this phenomenon, both amongst social and political historians, and amongst historians of education. The aims and perspectives of this study are then outlined, stressing how the deficiencies in existing secondary literature can be rectified.