Dancing in the English Style: Consumption, Americanisation and National Identity in Britain, 1918-50

Description

This book illuminates the history of popular dance, one of the most influential and widespread leisure practices in early twentieth-century Britain. It focuses on the relationship between dancing and national identity construction, in a period when Britain participated in increasingly global markets of cultural production, consumption and exchange. -- .

Allison Abra is Assistant Professor of History and a Fellow in the Dale Center for the Study of War & Society at the University of Southern Mississippi -- .

'[...] this nuanced and well-researched study demonstrates the merits of using popular dance as a gateway into British social and cultural history.' Laura Quinton, New York University, Twentieth Century British History, 2018 'Drawing upon a fascinating range of source material (including autobiographies, Mass Observation, and the trade press), she tackles a series of complex issues, and advances a number of intriguing, important, and convincing arguments.' Canadian Journal of History 'Dancing in the English Style breaks new ground in many areas [...and] is a detailed, well-written, and comprehensive account of its subject.' Journal of British Studies -- .