Heroes of Invention - Technology, Liberalism and British Identity, 1750-1914 (Hardcover)

This innovative study adopts a completely new perspective on both the industrial revolution and nineteenth-century British culture. It investigates why inventors rose to heroic stature and popular acclaim in Victorian Britain, attested by numerous monuments, biographies, and honors, and contends there was no decline in the industrial nation's self-esteem before 1914. In a period notorious for hero-worship, the veneration of inventors might seem unremarkable, were it not for their previous disparagement and the relative neglect suffered by their twentieth-century successors. Christine MacLeod argues that inventors became figureheads of various nineteenth-century factions, from economic and political liberals to impoverished scientists, and radical artisans, who deployed their heroic reputation, not least to challenge the aristocracy's hold on power and the militaristic national identity that bolstered it. Although this was a challenge that ultimately failed, its legacy for present-day ideas about invention, inventors, and the history of the industrial revolution remains highly influential.

General

Imprint:	Cambridge UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Economic History - Second Series
Release date:	December 2007
First published:	2007
Authors:	Christine MacLeod
Dimensions:	233 x 159 x 33mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	476
ISBN-13:	978-0-521-87370-3
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Books > Humanities > History > British & Irish history > General Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Industrial history Books > History > British & Irish history > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Industrial history Books > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Promotions
LSN:	0-521-87370-3
Barcode:	9780521873703

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