Synopses & Reviews
Classes, Culture, and Politics investigates those fields in British history that have been illustrated by the works of Ross McKibbin, one of the foremost historians of twentieth century Britain. Written by a distinguished team of scholars, it examines McKibbin's life and thought, and explores the implications of his arguments. One of his most important achievements has been to break down the artificial barriers that existed between 'social' and 'political' history, in order to enrich the writing of both; that legacy is reflected throughout this volume.
From international football to Liberal internationalism, from the hedonism of the early Labour party to the relationship between London cabbies and Thatcherism, this volume is an ambitious attempt to explore contemporary Britain, endeavouring to be as original, unsycophantic, rebarbative, and diverting as the historian whose work has inspired it.
Review
"All of the essays in this collection are succinct and well researched, and several contain kernels of what could be larger projects. The book thus serves as a fond tribute to the expansive influence of Ross McKibbin by featuring further developments of some of his ideas. As such, it would be of interest to anyone curious about the confluence of culture and politics in twentieth-century Britain." --Journal of British Studies
About the Author
Clare V. J. Griffiths is the author of
Labour and the Countryside: The Politics of Rural Britain 1918-1939 (2007).
James J. Nott is the author of Music for the People: Popular Music and Dance in Interwar Britain (2002). He is currently writing a book on the history of dancing and dance halls in Britain, 1920-1960.
William Whyte is the author of Oxford Jackson: Architecture, Education, Status and Style (2006) and co-editor of Redefining Christian Britain (2007). He is currently writing a book on the architecture of Britain's modern universities.
Table of Contents
Preface
INTRODUCING ROSS McKIBBIN
1. Ross McKibbin: a biographical introduction, Boyd Hilton
2. The Guv'nor: the place of Ross McKibbin in the writing of British history, Peter Ghosh
3. Ross McKibbin: a bibliography, Peter Ghosh
CLASSES
4. In Pursuit of Prudence: speculation, risk, and class in Victorian Britain, Paul Johnson
5. Britain's 'Quasi-Magical' Monarchy in the mid-twentieth century?, Andrezj Olechnowicz
6. Classes and Cultures in England after 1951: the case of working-class women, Janet Howarth
7. The London Cabbie and the Rise of Essex Man, John Davis
CULTURES
8. Middle-Class Wanderers and Working-Class Professionals: the British and the growth of world football, 1899-1954, Tony Mason
9. Just William? Richmal Crompton and Conservative fiction, William Whyte
10. The People's Orwell, Robert Colls
11. Love, Romance, and the National Health Service, Joseph McAleer
12. Being His Own Rabbit: Geoffrey Gorer and English culture, Peter Mandler
POLITICS
13. The Cultural Politics of Tory Socialism: The Clarion in the labour movement during the 1890s, Gregg McClymont
14. 'The Plague Spots of London': William Joynson-Hicks, the Conservative Party, and the campaign against London's nightclubs, 1924-29, James J. Nott
15. Arthur Henderson: an evolving liberal internationalist among Labour little Englanders, Martin Ceadel
16. An Ideology of Class: neo-liberalism and the Trade Unions, c.1930-79, Ben Jackson
17. History and the Labour Party, Clare V. J. Griffiths
REFLECTIONS
18. Communicating Interest, Emma Eadie
19. Despite His Choice of Jumpers, Rosemary Sweet
20. A Bicycle Tour of Memories, Eve Colpus
21. A Chronicle, Mary-Kay Wilmers
Index