Rolf Gardiner: Folk, Nature and Culture in Interwar Britain (Hardcover, New edition)

Folk dancer, forester, poet and visionary, Rolf Gardiner (1902-71) is both a compelling and troubling figure in the history of twentieth-century Britain. While he is celebrated as a pioneer of organic farming and co-founder of the Soil Association, Gardiner's organicist outlook was not confined to agriculture alone. Convinced that a healthy culture and society could only flourish when it was rooted in the soil, Gardiner sought national regeneration too. One of the most colourful and controversial figures of the interwar period, Gardiner believed Britain's future lay not with its doomed empire, but in ever closer union with its 'kin folk, kin tongued' neighbours in Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. Fascinated by the Weimar Republic's myriad youth leagues and life reform movements, Gardiner became an important conduit between North Sea and Baltic. Yet while an enthusiasm for hiking, nudism, folk dancing and voluntary labour camps must have appeared harmlessly eccentric to many in 1920s Britain, by the late-1930s Gardiner's continued engagement with Germany was to have altogether darker connotations. This volume, which brings together seven scholars currently working on different aspects of Gardiner's life and work, eschews a straightforwardly biographical approach and instead focuses on the decades when he was at his most dynamic and radical. Situating Gardiner within the wider political and cultural contexts of the interwar years and exploring youth culture, the origins of the organic movement, Anglo-German relations and British cultural history, it is an essential addition to modern history libraries.

General

Imprint:	Ashgate Publishing Limited
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	December 2010
First published:	2010
Authors:	Mike Tyldesley
Editors:	Matthew Jefferies
Dimensions:	234 x 156 x 19mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	202
Edition:	New edition
ISBN-13:	978-1-4094-1204-5
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > General Books > Humanities > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Social & political philosophy Books > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Books > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Social & political philosophy
LSN:	1-4094-1204-0
Barcode:	9781409412045

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!