Business, Charity and Sentiment is the history of the South Australian Housing Trust and the first substantial history of public housing in Australia. The book documents fifty years of not only housing history, but social history and economic development during a time of profound social, environmental, political and public sector change in South Australia—and across the country.

First published in 1986, and shortlisted for the South Australian Festival Awards the same year, Business, Charity and Sentiment quickly gained a wide readership including policy makers, town planners, landscape designers and public housing residents themselves.

Susan Marsden is a highly respected professional historian and consultant. She's published over forty histories, as well as producing exhibitions, heritage studies, and recorded oral histories.