English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial Spirit, 1850-1980

Description

England was the world's first great industrial nation. Yet the English have never been comfortable with industrialism. Drawing upon a wide array of sources, Martin Wiener explores the English ambivalence to modern industrial society. His work reveals a pervasive middle- and upper-class frame of mind hostile to industrialism and economic growth. From the middle of the nineteenth century to the present, this frame of mind shaped a broad spectrum of cultural expression, including literature, journalism, and architecture, as well as social, historical, and economic thought. Now in a new edition, Wiener reflects on the original debate surrounding the work and examines the historiography of the last twenty years. Written in a graceful and accessible style, with reference to a broad range of people and ideas, this book will be of interest to all readers who wish to understand the development - and predicament - of modern England.

Martin J. Wiener is the Mary Jones Professor of History at Rice University. His previous books include Between Two Worlds: The Political Thought of Graham Wallas (1971), Reconstructing the Criminal (Cambridge, 1990), and Men of Blood: Violence, Manliness, and Criminal Justice in Victorian England (Cambridge, 2003).

'He offers a much more reliable ideological chart of modern Englishness than any previous cultural history, and does so coolly and persuasively.' Tom Nairn, The Guardian 'An important book, one that deserves to be read and pondered by everybody who has some portion of Britain's destiny in his (or her) hands.' The Economist 'No rational reader could resist the impact of this book.' Laurence Lafore, The New Republic 'In a broad and imaginative way he has provided much material for an understanding of the mentality of the English elite ... This book makes an important contribution to understanding English values.' Peter Stansky, Victorian Studies 'Now Weiner has returned to the fray with a revised edition. To read it is to be reminded of the stimulating power of ideas - and the ever-present influence of the past on the present ... Macintyre gives a perceptive account of the culture of sacrifice, made for the mother country in two world wars, the making of the modern, multicultural society, ad, of course, looks at the unifying role of cricket.' BBC History