Synopses & Reviews
Lords of Misrule takes a different view and considers the role of an aristocracy behaving badly. This is a book about the political, social and moral failings of aristocracy and the ways in which they have featured in political rhetoric. Drawing on the views of critics of aristocracy, it explores the dark side of power without responsibility. Less "patrician paragons" than dissolute and debauched debtors, the aristocrats featured here undermined, rather than augmented, the fabric of national life.
Lords of Misrule recaptures the views of those radicals and reformers who were prepared to contemplate a Britain without aristocrats.
Review
"Instead of the nostalgia so often associated with aristocratic culture, Taylor reasserts the importance of the radical critique of aristocratic privilege, power, and moral authority. His book is an important addition to the political and social history of modern Britain."--James A. Epstein, Vanderbilt University
Synopsis
Flamboyant, cultured and refined, aristocracy is often seen as a national treasure. Lords of Misrule takes a different view and considers the role of an aristocracy behaving badly. This is a book about the political, social and moral failings of aristocracy and the ways in which they have featured in political rhetoric. Drawing on the views of critics of aristocracy, it explores the dark side of power without responsibility. Less 'patrician paragons' than dissolute and debauched debtors, the aristocrats featured here undermined, rather than augmented, the fabric of national life. For the first time, Lords of Misrule recaptures the views of those radicals and reformers who were prepared to contemplate a Britain without aristocrats.
About the Author
Antony Taylor is Senior Lecturer in History at Sheffield Hallam University, UK.
Table of Contents
Introduction * Aristocratic Debauchery and Working-Class Virtue: The Case of Colonel Valentine Baker * 'The Apostle of Plunder': The Influence of Henry George in England Reconsidered * Hunting, Moral Outrage, and Radical Opposition to Animal Abuse in Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Britain * 'Lords of Misrule': Liberalism, the House of Lords, and the Campaign against Privilege * Plutocracy * Conclusions * Appendices * Bibliography