Modern Britain, 1750 to the Present

by James Vernon

Overview

This wide-ranging introduction to the history of modern Britain extends from the eighteenth century to the present day. Vernon structures his compelling narrative around the rise, fall and reinvention of liberal ideas of how markets, governments and empires should work. In this new edition, Vernon expands on four important themes: the history of the environment and climate crisis; global pandemics; the history of minoritised people of colour; and shifting ideas of democracy and sovereignty. This textbook offers a new global history of Britain, demonstrating how the world shaped the course of Britain's modern history. Richly illustrated with figures and maps, the book features textboxes, further reading guides, highlighted key terms and a glossary. A supplementary online package includes a study guide with discussion questions and links to additional primary sources. This textbook is an essential resource for introductory courses on the history of modern Britain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009379670
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/30/2025
Series:	Cambridge History of Britain
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	614
Product dimensions:	6.65(w) x 9.57(h) x 1.14(d)

About the Author

'James Vernon is the Helen Fawcett Distinguished Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley. He has taught the history of modern, imperial, Britain for over thirty years on both sides of the Atlantic. Vernon is the author of Politics and the People (1993), Hunger: A Modern History (2007) and Distant Strangers: How Britain Became Modern (2014), and the editor of Rereading the Constitution (1996), The Peculiarities of Liberal Modernity in Imperial Britain (2011) and the 'Berkeley Series in British Studies' for the University of California Press.'

Table of Contents

Preface; Part I. 1750–1819: The Ends of the Ancien Regime: 1. The imperial state; 2. An englightened civil society?; 3. An imperial economy and the great transformation; Part II. 1819–1885: Becoming Liberal and Global: 4. A liberal revolution in government; 5. An empire of free trade?; 6. Practising democracy; Part III. 1885–1931: The Crises of Liberalism: 7. The British imperium; 8. The social problem; 9. The rise of the mass; Part IV. 1931–1976: Society Triumphant: 10. Late imperialism and social democracy; 11. Social democracy and the cold war; 12. The ends of social democracy; Part V. 1976–: A New Liberalism?: 13. The neoliberal revolution; Glossary.

Editorial Reviews

'Driven by an emphasis on the profound effects of free trade liberalism, James Vernon’s Modern Britain covers vast ground. In lively and accessible prose he charts a coherent narrative of modern Britain attentive to the effects of the world beyond its shores. Vernon does not flinch from portraying the violence underpinning liberalism, and his insistence on writing Britain’s history in a global frame is a welcome addition to the field.' Philippa Levine, University of Texas, Austin

'James Vernon’s book is at once a powerful reinterpretation of British history and a compelling and comprehensive survey accessible to students from a diversity of backgrounds.' Chris Hilliard, University of Sydney

'What we have long waited for … a beautifully written and illustrated textbook that deftly synthesizes several decades of new research to demonstrate how global forces created and recreated the polity we know as Modern Britain. Taking us on a lively journey that ends with an assessment of the Brexit vote, Vernon provides students and anyone interested in modern history with a fascinating portrait of how liberal political economy shaped the nation state and empire, society and urban life, the family and citizenship, and bodies and identities.' Erika Rappaport, University of California, Santa Barbara

'This is an outstandingly good book. The writing is excellent, crisp and concise, giving sufficient information and explanations of terms. The timelines are very useful, and biographies and sources reinforce the analysis in each chapter. The book is animated throughout by a tremendous analytical coherence and argumentative energy. This is likely to stand as the most up-to-date, interesting and usable textbook for modern Britain courses.' Robert Travers, Cornell University, New York

'This is a wonderful achievement by a historian at the peak of his abilities. Amidst a scholarship that has becoming increasingly specialised James Vernon has produced a powerful work of synthesis and reinterpretation, and he has done so in a clear and accessible manner. This is a textbook that will guide new students through the subject, but it offers too a powerful thesis about that nature of liberal political economy that will challenge all historians of the period to debate just how and when Britain became modern.' Matthew Hilton, Queen Mary University of London

'This book does an excellent job of weaving together the political, cultural, and social history of the period from 1750 to the present. Vernon consistently attacks some of the prevailing, complacent myths of British history, in particular in relation to the Empire … [he] insists that Britain did not merely shape the world, but the world also shaped Britain, undermining nationalist accounts of British great power influence. One of the book’s great strengths as a textbook is its political engagement … it constructs a densely woven account of the political, social, and cultural history of Britain since 1975, placing Britain in its global context and remaining at all times politically engaged.' Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite, Twentieth Century British History

'This is an excellent new textbook which frames a narrative of British history since 1750 around the rise, fall and reinvention of liberal ideas about markets, governments and empires. It provides a timely re-assessment of modern Britain which will be of value to undergraduates. In an age in which a government minister (right-wing parliamentarian Jacob Rees-Mogg) can compose a self-congratulatory version of British history seen through the supposedly pivotal actions of various 'great white men' - and in which large numbers of the population of England have been enraptured by Brexit - James Vernon’s warning that without a critical view of the past, we fall prey to the triumphalist and whitewashed versions of national history championed by politicians, is pertinent.' Charlie Lynch, Journal of Contemporary History

From the Publisher