Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837

by Linda Colley

Overview

How was Great Britain made? And what does it mean to be British? This brilliant and seminal book examines how a more cohesive British nation was invented after 1707 and how this new national identity was nurtured through war, religion, trade, and empire. Lavishly illustrated and powerful, Britons remains a major contribution to our understanding of Britain’s past, and continues to influence ongoing controversies about this polity’s survival and future. This edition contains an extensive new preface by the author.

“A sweeping survey, . . . evocatively illustrated and engagingly written.”—Harriet Ritvo, New York Times Book Review

“Challenging, fascinating, enormously well informed.”—John Barrell, London Review of Books

“Linda Colley writes with clarity and grace...Her stimulating book will be, and deserves to be influential”—E. P. Thompson, Dissent

Linda Colley is Shelby M. C. Davis 1958 Professor of History at Princeton University.
Winner of the Wolfson History Prize
New York Times NotableBook

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300152807
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	10/27/2009
Edition description:	Revised Edition
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Born in Britain, Linda Colley has taught and written on history and current events on both sides of the Atlantic. Previously at Cambridge, Yale, and the London School of Economics, she is now Shelby M.C. Davis 1958 Professor of History at Princeton University.

Editorial Reviews

0;A sweeping survey, . . . evocatively illustrated and engagingly written.1;2;Harriet Ritvo, "New York Times Book Review "


0;Dashingly written and firmly unsentimental.1;2;Keith Thomas," New York Review of Books"


0;Extremely learned and penetrating . . . [and] most entertaining.1;2;Conor Cruise O7;Brien, "New Republic"


"Dashingly written and firmly unsentimental."—Keith Thomas, " New York Review of Books"


" A sweeping survey, . . . evocatively illustrated and engagingly written." — Harriet Ritvo, "New York Times Book Review "


" Dashingly written and firmly unsentimental." — Keith Thomas," New York Review of Books"


" Extremely learned and penetrating . . . [and] most entertaining." — Conor Cruise O' Brien, "New Republic"


"Extremely learned and penetrating . . . Ýand¨ most entertaining."—Conor Cruise O'Brien, "New Republic"


"A sweeping survey, . . . evocatively illustrated and engagingly written."—Harriet Ritvo, "New York Times Book Review "


"Dashingly written and firmly unsentimental."—Keith Thomas," New York Review of Books"


"Extremely learned and penetrating . . . [and] most entertaining."—Conor Cruise O'Brien, "New Republic"

From the Publisher

A superb history of how British nationalism and patriotism developed in the period before the accession of Queen Victoria; by Colley (History/Yale). Britain at the beginning of the 18th century, says Colley, "was like the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, both three [England, Scotland, and Wales] and one and altogether something of a mystery." It comprehended a "massive diversity," but, during the next century, a united kingdom was forged—under the influence of an embattled Protestantism (the Counter-Reformation was in progress, and fear of the Stuart claimants to the throne remained vivid during this time); war (for long periods, with France); and growing trade and imperial hegemony. The loss of the American colonies was, in Colley's view, perhaps more constructive than Britain's victories, precipitating an enthusiasm for parliamentary and imperial reform and for religious liberalization in a governing elite that realized the extent of the threat it faced as a result of that loss. This elite soon recognized, moreover, that it needed more than passive obedience in order to triumph over the French during the Napoleonic Wars. Colley notes that Catholic Emancipation, parliamentary reform, and the freeing of slaves throughout the empire were attributable in remarkable measure to popular pressure. By 1832, Britain was the most democratic country in Europe, and its moral stature contributed to the relatively tranquil period that ensued during the rest of the Victorian era (though, paradoxically, Britain was outpaced in democratic commitment by many other European countries well before the end of the 19th century). Intelligent, lively, well written, bursting with ideas, and splendidlyillustrated with 70 prints and cartoons from the period.

Kirkus Reviews