Rita and Gerald traces the history of adult learning in the UK from the mid-19th century to the present. Both a celebration and a defence of adult education, it shows how adult education has adapted to change over 200 years and why the sector is today needed more than ever. Built around the educational stories of 150 students in six premier institutions who are studying programs ranging from entry-level English to post-graduate degrees, the book combines a theoretical perspective with insight into human aspirations. We read how a British soldier moved past the horror of war-torn Bosnia through studying Creative Writing at Ruskin College; how a young woman who has cerebral palsy found a haven for learning at the Mary Ward Centre; how sisters who escaped persecution in Libya came to Camden’s Working Men’s College to study English and Child Care. It is essential reading for adult students, curriculum planners, policy makers, professional educators, and undergraduate and post-graduate students of history and philosophy of education, and community learning.