The acclaimed anatomy of Britain’s relationship with its monarchy, by the foremost historian of nationalism.
In this acclaimed study of British statehood, identity and culture, Tom Nairn deftly dispels the conviction that the Royal Family is nothing more than an amusing relic of feudalism or a mere tourist attraction. Instead, he argues that the monarchy is both apex and essence of the British state, the symbol of a national backwardness. In this fully updated edition, Nairn’s powerful and bitterly comic prose lays bare Britain’s peculiar, pseudo-modern, national identity—which remains stubbornly fixated on the Crown and its constitutional framework, the “parliamentary sovereignty” of Westminster.
Foreword to the 2011 Edition vii
Foreword to the 1994 Edition xvii
Introduction 9
1 The Mystery
A People's Monarchy 19
Are We All Mad? 23
Mystic Significance of a Small Bald Patch 25
Royalty and Fashion 29
Royalty Versus Celebrity 34
In the Doll's House: Crawfie Lives 36
What Are They Really Like? 43
Taboo-supported Niceness 46
Taboo and Idiot-Theory 50
Royalty and Civilization: the Mystery Deepens 55
Respectable and Popular Monarchy 59
Queenspeak 62
The Royal Touch 71
Regal Walkabout 74
Imponderable Insipidities 80
Tea with the Queen 84
Through the Wrong End of the Telescope: Ukania 88
2 The Nation
A Special Explanation 101
Digression on Family Pets 103
'Disavowal' 111
Sociology of Grovelling, Part 1 115
Sociology of Grovelling, Part 2 120
Enchantment in Retrospect 124
Monarchy and Nationalism 127
The Enchanted Glass
English Nationality 131
Leviathan and Later 137
Kings at Nightfall 142
'Parliamentary Sovereignty' 144
The Modern Venice 151
The Containment of Modernity 156
The Modernization of George III 163
Folklore from Above 174
The Royal Etiquette-lesson 189
Playing the Royal Game 197
The Heart of Archaism 203
3 The Glamour of Backwardness
Bustard Identity 213
Nationalism in Satin Breeches 216
A So-Called English Prince 222
All Manner of Folk 226
The Nerves of Fetishism 234 The Outward-looking and the Backward-looking 246
The Royal Bomb: Implosions of Greatness 251 'Class': the Totem-Shadow 260
The Monarchy of Letters 269
Speech and Silence of the Crown: Spectrogram of Greatness 277
Kitsch Identity: Sinuosity of the Truly Royal 291
Estates of the Reaim 298
The Royal Prerogative 315
4 Quiet Republicanism From Bang to Whimper 325
'Getting Rid of It Altogether 331
Pseudo-Feudal Socialism 339
T.S. Eliot and Clap-trap: Fathomable Givenness 345
Bagehot:Dressing up the Mace 356
Chief Malefactor: 'The English Constitution' 360
Sooner Than One Thinks 371
Endless Dream-time? 377
Overview
The acclaimed anatomy of Britain’s relationship with its monarchy, by the foremost historian of nationalism.
In this acclaimed study of British statehood, identity and culture, Tom Nairn deftly dispels the conviction that the Royal Family is nothing more than an amusing relic of feudalism or a mere tourist attraction. Instead, he argues that the monarchy is both apex and essence of the British state, the symbol of a national backwardness. In this fully updated edition, Nairn’s ...