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Books > History > British & Irish history
Staging Detection reveals how the new figure of the stage detective emerged in nineteenth-century Britain. The first book to explore the productive intersections between detection and performance across a range of Victorian plays, Staging Detection foregrounds the role of the stage detective in shaping important theatrical modes of the period, from popular melodrama to society comedy. Beginning in 1863 with Tom Taylor's blockbuster play, The Ticket-of-Leave Man, the book criss-crosses London following the earliest performances of stage detectives. Centring the work of playwrights, novelists, critics and actors, from Sarah Lane and Horace Wigan to Wilkie Collins and Oscar Wilde, Staging Detection sheds new light on Victorian acting styles, furthers our understanding of melodrama, and resituates the famous Wildean dandy as a successor to the stage detective. Drawing on histories of masculinity and gender performance as well as developing scientific theory and nineteenth-century visual culture, Staging Detection shows how the earliest stage portrayals of the detective shaped broader Victorian debates concerning fraud, omniscience and earned authority. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of theatre history, Victorian literature and popular culture - as well as anyone with an interest in the figure of the detective.
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) revolutionized warfare at sea, on land, and in the air. This little-known naval aviation organization introduced and operationalized aircraft carrier strike, aerial anti-submarine warfare, strategic bombing, and the air defence of the British Isles more than 20 years before the outbreak of the Second World War. Traditionally marginalized in a literature dominated by the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force, the RNAS and its innovative practitioners, nevertheless, shaped the fundamentals of air power and contributed significantly to the Allied victory in the First World War. The Development of British Naval Aviation utilizes archival documents and newly published research to resurrect the legacy of the RNAS and demonstrate its central role in Britain's war effort.
This book shows how international influences profoundly shaped the 'English' home of Victorian and Edwardian London; homes which, in turn, influenced Britain's (and Britons') place on the world stage. The period between 1850 and 1914 was one of fundamental global change, when London homes were subject to new expanding influences that shaped how residents cleaned, ate, and cared for family. It was also the golden age of domesticity, when the making and maintaining of home expressed people's experience of society, class, race, and politics. Focusing on the everyday toil of housework, the chapters in this volume show the 'English' home as profoundly global conglomeration of people, technology, and things. It examines a broad spectrum of sources, from patents to ice cream makers, and explores domestic histories through original readings and critiques of printed sources, material culture, and visual ephemera.
This book examines the relationship between concepts of heroic "gallantry," as projected by the British honours system, and the sociocultural, political, military and international transitions of the supposed Sixties "cultural revolution." In so doing, it considers how a conservative, hierarchical and state-orientated concept both evolved and endured during a period of immense change in which traditional assumptions of deference to elites were increasingly challenged. Covering the period often defined as "The Long Sixties," from 1955-79, this study concentrates on four distinct transitions undergone by both state and non-state gallantry awards, including developments within the welfare state, class and gender discrimination, counterinsurgency and decolonisation. It ultimately sheds fresh light upon the importance of postwar decades to the continued evolution of concepts of gallantry and heroism in British culture using a range of underexplored government and media archives. It will be of interest to scholars, students and general researchers of heroism in modern Britain, the Sixties revolution, postwar military history and both the social and political evolution of British honours, decorations and medals.
Opens up a hidden aspect of women's history, imperial history and social history Includes contemporary illustrations, vividly bringing the subject to life Based on important new archival research
This book explores the relationship between middle-class fathers and sons in England between c. 1870 and 1920. We now know that the conventional image of the middle-class paterfamilias of this period as cold and authoritarian is too simplistic, but there is still much to be discovered about relationships in middle-class families. Paying especial attention to gender and masculinities, this book focuses on the interactions between fathers and sons, exploring how relationships developed and masculine identities were negotiated from infancy and childhood to adulthood and old age. Drawing on sources as diverse as autobiographies, oral history interviews, First World War conscription records and press reports of violent incidents, this book questions how fathers and sons negotiated relationships marked by shifting relations of power, as well as by different combinations of emotional entanglements, obligations and ties. It explores changes as fathers and sons grew older and assesses fathers' role in trying to mould sons' masculine identities, characters and lives. It reveals negotiation and compromise, as well as rebellion and conflict, underlining that fathers and sons were important to each other, their relationships a significant - if often overlooked - aspect of middle-class men's lives and identities.
The book explores the rise of civil divorce in Victorian England, the subsequent operation of a fault system of divorce based solely on the ground of adultery, and the eventual piecemeal repeal of the Victorian-era divorce law during the Interwar years. The legal history of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 is at the heart of the book. The Act had a transformative impact on English law and society by introducing a secular judicial system of civil divorce. This swept aside the old system of divorce that was only obtainable from the House of Lords and inadvertently led to the creation of the modern family justice system. The book argues that only through understanding the legal doctrine in its wider cultural, political, religious, and social context is it possible to fully analyse and assess the changes brought about by the Act. The major developments included the end of any pretence of the indissolubility of marriage, the statutory enshrinement of a double standard based on gender in the grounds for divorce, and the growth of divorce across all spectrums of English society. The Act was a product of political and legal compromise between conservative forces resisting the legal introduction of civil divorce and the reformers, who demanded married women receive equal access to the grounds of divorce. Changing attitudes towards divorce that began in the Edwardian period led to a gradual rejection of Victorian moral values and the repeal of the Act after 80 years of existence in the Interwar years. The book will be a valuable resource for academics and researchers with an interest in legal history, family law, and Victorian studies.
This book is Volume IV in the Official History of Criminal Justice in England and Wales. Previous volumes have focused on the moral reforms of the 1960s, the changes to the criminal courts and the introduction of an independent prosecution service, and the broad shifts in penal policy that have taken place in the post-war era. This volume examines the changing politics of law and order, charting the gradual shift toward greater political conflict and dispute. Until the early 1970s law and order rarely occupied a privileged place in political debate. From that point this began to change with, initially, the Conservatives utilising crime and penal policy as a means of distinguishing themselves from their opponents. This volume charts these changes in the politics of law and order and examines the rise in the temperature of political debate around such issues as the Labour Party markedly shifted its direction in the 1990s This book will be of interest to students of British political history, criminology and sociology.
The elaborately carved Hilton of Cadboll stone, the house-shaped Monymusk Reliquary and the sumptuously decorated Hunterston brooch (all on view in the National Museum of Scotland) are evidence of the sophistication of Scottish craftsmen in the time AD 300-900. A pioneering partnership between National Museums Scotland and The Glenmorangie Company has supported a major programme of research into the archaeology of Scotland during the Early Medieval period. This is the paperback edition of the book first published in 2012.
In the seventeenth century, England saw Holland as an economic power to learn from and compete with. English Economic Thought in the Seventeenth Century: Rejecting the Dutch Model analyses English economic discourse during this period, and explores the ways in which England's economy was shaped by the example of its Dutch rival. Drawing on an impressive range of primary and secondary sources, the chapters explore four key areas of controversy in order to illuminate the development of English economic thought at this time. These areas include: the herring industry; the setting of interest rates; banking and funds; and land registration and credit. The links between each of these debates are highlighted, and attention is also given to the broader issues of international trade, social reform and credit. This book is of strong interest to advanced students and researchers of the history of economic thought, economic history and intellectual history.
An Open Access edition of this book will be made available on publication via the Liverpool University Press website. Steel City Readers makes available, and interprets in detail, a large body of new evidence about past cultures and communities of reading. Its distinctive method is to listen to readers' own voices, rather than theorising about them as an undifferentiated group. Its cogent and engaging structure traces reading journeys from childhood into education and adulthood, and attends to settings from home to school to library. It has a distinctive focus on reading for pleasure and its framework of argument situates that type of reading in relation to dimensions of gender and class. It is grounded in place, and particularly in the context of a specific industrial city: Sheffield. The men and women featured in the book, coming to adulthood in the 1930s and 1940s, rarely regarded reading as a means of self-improvement. It was more usually a compulsive and intensely pleasurable private activity.
Originally published in 1963, The Railwaymen recounts the struggle of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants from its foundation in 1872 until the first national railway strike in 1911 to gain recognition from the companies and a reduction in the excessive hours of labour and the scandalously high accident rate among railwaymen. Two chapters recall the decisive role of the union, through the Taff Vale and Osborne cases in shaping the modern labour movement. Founded through the merging of three unions in 1913, the NUR crossed swords with Lloyd George in the railway strike of 1919 and with Baldwin and Churchill in the general strike. It led the railwaymen through two world wars, helped shape the transport act of 1947 and, after 1951, thought for the re-establishment of an adequate system of public transport.
Originally published in 1982, The Railwaymen examines the impact of the transformation which took place in the British Railways in the second half of the 20th Century on the people who maintained British railway services and reveals the change which took place in the union to which most of them belonged: the National Union of Railwaymen (now part of the National Union of Rail and Maritime Transport Workers: RMT). The union's reaction to the Beeching closures of the 1960s and the Industrial Relations Act of 1971, its policies on the closed shop, inter-union rivalries, representation in Parliament and the constitution of the Labour Party are treated authoritatively by the author who had access to all the union's records.
First published in 1971 The London that was Rome is both a detective story and a tale of buried treasure. Some years ago, Michael Harrison set out to discover the truth about Roman London. Did it survive the Saxon onslaught in the fifth century or (as many historians have claimed) did it lie sacked, ruined, and abandoned for about a century and a half? Searching for an answer, Harrison forged himself a new 'truth detecting' method of discovery; but even he could not anticipate the immense success of this method. With 'New Archaeology' he has not only recovered the street plan of Roman London, but also replaced the buildings-temples, barracks, banks, baths, picture-galleries, treasuries and so on - which lined those streets. In many cases he has been able to name the streets and at the same time vividly describe for us the social and economic life of a London, which under the Caesars, ranked among the principal cities of the Empire. This book is an interesting read for students of archaeology, history, and for general readers interested to know about London.
During the Second World War the Royal Navy's vitally important Anti-submarine Experimental Establishment was secretly moved from Portland in Dorset to the Ayrshire village of Fairlie, to escape German bombing on the south coast. For the next six years it occupied the boatyard of yacht builder William Fife on the Firth of Clyde. During this time, highly confidential world-leading research on the acoustic detection of submarines by asdic - now known as sonar - was carried out by hundreds of scientists, officers and local men and women based at Fairlie. As experiments took place into new ways of sinking German U-boats, the peace of the quiet village was shattered. Winston Churchill described the work done at Fairlie as critical to winning the Battle of the Atlantic and ultimately the war. The research remained relevant to anti-submarine warfare long after the war, and is still relevant today. Fairlie's role in the war was not disclosed until relatively recently. Highly illustrated throughout and making use of previously unpublished material, this book tells the full story of the establishment at Fairlie for the first time. It describes the impact it had on local people, and their relationship with the naval officers and scientists who came to work there.
From regicides to revolutionaries; from fascists to anarchists; from Tom Paine to Tom Wintringham, this book is a history of noble ideals and crushing failures in which Clive Bloom takes us on a journey through British history, exploring our often rocky relationship with the ruling elite. Restless Revolutionaries reveals our surprising legacy of terrorism and revolution, reminding us that Britain has witnessed centuries of revolt. This is a history encompassing three bloody civil wars in Ireland, the bombing campaigns by the IRA, two Welsh uprisings, one Lowland Scottish civil war, uprisings in Derbyshire and Kent, five attempts to assassinate the entire cabinet and seize London, and numerous attempts to murder the royal family. Restless Revolutionaries provides a fascinating testament to the fact that from the 1790s to the present day over 23,000 British subjects have fought and died for the ideal of a fair republic.
The history of Special Operations Executive (SOE) seems to spring a never-ending run of surprises, and here are some more. This book explores the mysterious world of the tools SOE used for their missions of subversion and sabotage. An often grim reality is confronted that is more akin with the world of James Bond and Q's workshop than previously believed. Written by two scientists, one of whom served in the SOE and one who was tasked with clearing up after it was disbanded; their insider knowledge presents a clear account of the way in which SOE's inventors worked. From high explosive technology to chemical and biological devices; from the techniques of air supply to incendiarism; from camouflage to underwater warfare; and from radio communications to weaponry. SOE: The Scientific Secrets is a revelation about the tools that allowed the murky world of spying and spies to operate during wartime.
This book: covers the essential content in the new specifications in a rigorous and engaging way, using detailed narrative, sources, timelines, key words, helpful activities and extension material helps develop conceptual understanding of areas such as evidence, interpretations, causation and change, through targeted activities provides assessment support for A level with sample answers, sources, practice questions and guidance to help you tackle the new-style exam questions. It also comes with three years' access to ActiveBook, an online, digital version of your textbook to help you personalise your learning as you go through the course - perfect for revision.
Grand, awe-inspiring and beautiful, the `Big House' is widely viewed as a jewel in the Irish landscape today. Despite this, the relationship between the country house and the state has long been complex and nuanced. Houses such as Castletown, Mote Park, and Shanbally Castle have faced sometimes insurmountable threats to their survival since the founding of the Free State. Against a backdrop of civil war and social upheaval, the fledging government of 1922 was unwilling to accept the burdensome gifts of these extravagant but ineffectual `white elephants' at a time when much of the population lived in poverty. From the 1920s to the 1970s, hundreds of former landlords' residences - often seen as symbols of British oppression - were sold on, demolished or simply abandoned to ruin. Despite the significant change that took place in terms of the perception of these houses as part of the national heritage, the relationship between the state post-independence and the country house has not been examined in detail to date. Analysing previously unused government records, White Elephants illustrates the complex attitudes of politicians such as Erskine Childers, Sean Moylan and Charles J. Haughey to the country house and the crucial role of senior civil servants in determining their fates. The actions of the Office of Public Works and the Land Commission are here analysed and weighed, while the effects of land division and the alienation of the Anglo-Irish class are seen through the often-revealing lens of Department of the Taoiseach and Department of Finance files. These previously unmined sources uncover the more personal history and attitudes behind decisions for demolition or salvation. Drawing on case studies of significant Irish houses including Bishopscourt, Derrynane, Dunsandle, Hazelwood, Killarney, Muckross and Russborough, White Elephants tracks the compelling development of the Irish country house from burden to heritage site, running in parallel with the development of Ireland from a fledgling state to taking its place in the international community of the EEC in 1973.
WINNER OF THE 2022 BRITISH BOOK AWARD FOR NARRATIVE NONFICTION ***THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE CHANNEL 4 DOCUMENTARY 'EMPIRE STATE OF MIND'*** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'The real remedy is education of the kind that Sanghera has embraced - accepting, not ignoring, the past' Gerard deGroot, The Times _____________________________________________________ EMPIRE explains why there are millions of Britons living worldwide. EMPIRE explains Brexit and the feeling that we are exceptional. EMPIRE explains our distrust of cleverness. EMPIRE explains Britain's particular brand of racism. Strangely hidden from view, the British Empire remains a subject of both shame and glorification. In his bestselling book, Sathnam Sanghera shows how our imperial past is everywhere: from how we live and think to the foundation of the NHS and even our response to the COVID-19 crisis. At a time of great division, when we are arguing about what it means to be British, Empireland is a groundbreaking revelation - a much-needed and enlightening portrait of contemporary British society, shining a light on everything that usually gets left unsaid. _______________________________________________________ 'Empireland takes a perfectly-judged approach to its contentious but necessary subject' Jonathan Coe 'I only wish this book has been around when I was at school' Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London 'This remarkable book shines the brightest of lights into some of the darkest and most misunderstood corners of our shared history' James O'Brien
This book explores 50 years of Irish women's prison writing, 1960s-2010s, connecting the work of women leaders and writers in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. This volume analyzes political communiques, petitions, news coverage, prison files, personal letters, poetry and short prose, and memoirs, highlighting the personal correspondence, auto/biographical narratives, and poetry of the following key women: Bernadette McAliskey, Eileen Hickey, Mairead Farrell, Sile Darragh, Ella O'Dwyer, Martina Anderson, Dolours Price, Marian McGlinchey (formerly Marian Price), Aine and Eibhlin Nic Giolla Easpaig (Ann and Eileen Gillespie), Roseleen Walsh, and Margaretta D'Arcy. This text builds on different fields and discourses to reimagine gender and genre as central to an interdisciplinary and intersectional prison archive. Centering Irish women's prison writings, in order to challenge canonization in history and literature, this volume argues that women's lives and words offer a different view of gender and nation as well as offer a fuller and more inclusive archive of Irish history and literature. Additionally, this book will point to the ways in which their politics of everyday life and their cultural work is a form of anti-colonial civil rights feminism, for it speaks truth to power in a world in which compliance and silence are valued. Overall, this text focuses on rethinking and recasting women's voices and words in order to document and promote the ongoing Irish freedom struggle from an abolitionist feminist perspective.
This political history studies the phenomenal growth of the modern British state's interest in collecting, collating and deploying population data. It dates this biopolitical data turn in British politics to the arrival of the Labour government in 1964. It analyses government's increased desire to know the population, the impact this has had on British political culture and the institutions and systems introduced or modified to achieve this. It probes the political struggles around these initiatives to show that despite setbacks along the way and regardless of party, all British governments since the mid-1960s have accepted that data is the key to modern politics and have pursued it relentlessly.
This is the story of the extraordinary life of Claver Morris and the society in which he lived. After his marriage at Chelsea in 1685, Claver Morris moved to Somerset where he established an outstanding reputation for his work as a physician. His diaries show us how he worked with apothecaries and surgeons, and travelled widely to treat all kind of patients, from the children of the poor to those of the landed gentry. The diaries also tell us about the joys and pains of Claver's personal and family life, and of his various intrigues. Claver Morris was a man of many talents: immensely enterprising, knowledgeable, sociable and loving. His house was always filled with music, guests and entertainments. Yet he was often faced with disputes and troubles partly of his own making - as when he courted a bishop's daughter, or stole some land to build his Queen Anne house. The Doctor's World provides a unique portrait of a physician living and working through the political and religious turmoils that beset the nation at the turn of the eighteenth century. Tales of medical treatments, clandestine marriages and self-serving priests are entwined with famous acts of treason and rebellion, and the pleasures and tragedies of daily life. This meticulously researched book will appeal to all readers of social, political, medical and family history. |
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