1938: Modern Britain: Social Change and Visions of the Future

Description

In 1938: Modern Britain, Michael John Law demonstrates that our understanding of life in Britain just before the Second World War has been overshadowed by its dramatic political events. 1938 was the last year of normality, and Law shows through a series of case studies that in many ways life in that year was far more modern than might have been thought. By considering topics as diverse as the opening of a new type of pub, the launch of several new magazines, the emergence of push-button radios and large screen televisions sets, and the building of a huge office block, he reveals a Britain, both modern and intrigued by its own modernity, that was stopped in its tracks by war and the austerity that followed. For some, life in Britain was as consumerist, secular, Americanized and modern as it would become for many in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Presenting a fresh perspective on an important year in British social history, illuminated by six engaging case studies, this is a key study for students and scholars of 20th-century Britain.

Michael John Law is a Research Fellow in History at the University of Westminster, UK. He is the author of The Experience of Suburban Modernity: How Private Transport Changed Interwar London (2014), 1930s London: The Modern City (2015) and co-author of The Roadhouse Comes to Britain (2017).

John Law's engaging and richly textured 1938 challenges us to consider what the future used to look like - and, in doing so, opens up new ways of thinking about 1930s Britain. Drawing this remarkable year out of the lengthening shadows of war, Law reveals a world absorbed by the wonders of entertainment technologies and cutting edge architecture, the glamour of international travel and everyday novelties of Picture Post magazine. Insightful and surprising, 1938 is a compelling account of a modern world that has often disappeared from view. * Matt Houlbrook, Professor of Cultural History, University of Birmingham, UK * From television sets to office blocks to forgotten municipal airports, 1938 reveals a Britain enthralled by the wonders of modern life. With great lucidity and an eye for curious detail, Law charts a growing social optimism about technology that would reach fruition in the consumer culture of the 1950s. * Richard Hornsey, Lecturer in Modern British History, University of Nottingham, UK * This brief, rather breezy book argues convincingly that Britain in 1938 was much more "modern" than one might have thought; the developments associated with postwar Britain were well on their way in that year, only to be delayed by war the following year and the recovery period after the war. Summing Up: Recommended. All public and academic levels/libraries. * CHOICE *