Englishness: Politics and Culture 1880–1920

Description

‘Englishness’ is by no means the unchanging quality of those living in the territory that has come to be England, but a concept that has been made and remade throughout history, expressing itself through existing symbols and ideas. Since its first publication in 1987 this collection has been regarded as a major work on English national identity as it evolved during the period 1880–1920 and has had a significant impact on writing and research. It is a classic text for students of modern British history and courses in politics, sociology and literature. This updated edition of Englishness contains a new introduction by Robert Colls and Philip Dodd, which sets the work in the context of research done since its original publication, and an afterword by Will Self which relates it to current debates on Britain as a multinational state. This important collection contains ideas that are still pertinent today, making it essential reading for students and scholars alike. Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Contributors List of Contributors in 1986 Preface Introduction to the second edition Select bibliography Chapter 1 Englishness and the national culture I II III IV V VI Notes Chapter 2 Englishness and the political culture 1688 and a Liberal freedom The absorbing qualities of the State Ireland Empire A vulnerable power: Enemies within and without State becomes Society Notes Chapter 3 The discovery of rural England I II III IV V VI VII Notes Chapter 4 The invention of English The crisis of leadership From classics to English New cultural strategies The new English Culture, society and the English Association Conclusions Notes Chapter 5 A literature for England Forging the English literary tradition Romantic culture and patriotism English fields and flowers of verse The fiction of an essential England Unknown England and nowhere lands Notes Chapter 6 The identity of English music: The reception of Elgar 1898–1935 Elgar established: 1890–1914 Elgar and the war effort Neglect? 1920–30 The Englishness of Elgar redefined Conclusion Notes Chapter 7 The Englishwoman Notes Chapter 8 ‘The Marginal Britons’: The Irish Notes Chapter 9 Englishness and the Liberal inheritance after 1886 From Liberalism to Englishness Before and after 1886 Collectivism and Stanley Baldwin Neville Chamberlain and Arthur Mee Aftermath Notes Chapter 10 The Conservative party and patriotism I II III IV V Notes Chapter 11 Socialism, the state, and some oppositional Englishness Keep smiling through Flesh and Blood, in the cupboard Before the idea of Englishness, England, and its State Cut to 1984: The modern Leviathan Yeast was in that dough News from somewhere Thomas Kirkup William Morris So, what went wrong? Notes Afterword Index