Description
Book SynopsisEMPIRE, STATE, AND SOCIETY This book captures the broad-sweep of modern British history. Bronstein and Harris's narrative is distinguished by its comprehensive coverage, readability, and sure judgment. It is an excellent book.
James Epstein, Vanderbilt University
This is a well-structured and gracefully written textbook that undergraduates at American universities and colleges should find highly accessible. It integrates recent scholarly trends into a compelling narrative that brings together metropolitan and imperial themes. These themes are illuminated by well-chosen anecdotes that make them come alive. Bronstein and Harris have provided an excellent introduction to modern Britain and its Empire, and one that deserves a wide readership.
Phil Harling, University of Kentucky
In the nineteenth century, Great Britain was a world-recognized superpower. Tremendous economic growth fostered a daunting formal empire, global networks of trade and investment,
Trade Review
?Nevertheless, for those looking for a concise, coherent, and accessible introduction to 19th- and 20th-century British history at the undergraduate level, this book is definitely worthy of serious consideration. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All undergraduate collections.? (Choice, 1 September 2012)
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Britain to 1830 4
2 Universal Suffrage and No Surrender: Politics at Home and Abroad, 1830–1867 30
3 Dark Satanic Mills? Economic and Social Change, 1830–1867 52
4 Utilitarians, Evangelicals, and Empire: Intellectual and Cultural Developments, 1830–1867 70
5 Democracy and Empire: Politics, 1867–1910 91
6 The Decline of the Aristocracy: Economic and Social Change, 1867–1910 110
7 Faith and Doubt? Cultural Change, 1867–1910 125
8 In Flanders Fields: Britain and the Great War, 1910–1918 147
9 Nationalism and Depression: Politics, Economics, and Social Change, 1919–1939 168
10 Culture and Ideas between the Wars, 1919–1939 191
11 London Burning: Britain in the Second World War 206
12 Winds of Change: Politics, 1945–1979 222
13 Building a Welfare State: Society and the Economy, 1945–1979 242
14 Meet the Beatles: Cultural and Intellectual Developments, 1945–1979 259
15 From Rule Britannia to Cool Britannia: Politics, 1979–2007 277
16 Whither Britain? Society and Culture since 1979 296
Appendix: Reigns and Ministries since 1830 312
Bibliography 315
Index 330
