In one of the most interesting history books for some years, Robert
Colls sets out to show how the English have thought about
themselves in the past, and how they think about themselves now -
and to connect the two concepts. He rambles through the story of
England from Anglo-Saxon times to the present, in what seems to be
an unplanned and random manner; only when one has finished the book
is it clear what he has been doing - that is, looking at English
history as a living thing, an embodiment of a people, not to be cut
into neat slices labelled 'Tudor' or 'Post-War'. He writes of the
national identity as an embodiment of the state, but also as a
deeply personal concept; of 'the English gentleman' and the man in
the pub; of women's relationship to the state; of the effect of
climate; of recurring spiritual crises; of the absorption of
foreign immigrants; of the violent social changes of the second
half of the 20th century. Knowledge of history is, he claims,
abysmally low, especially among the young - and the English need to
reassess who they are, which must come about by an understanding of
who they were. He writes accessibly, making use of anecdote and
quotation - as much from the world of popular song as of learned
monograph - beginning with George Orwell on England in 1929 and
ending with the same writer, and a plea for 'the authentic English
to emerge from the shadows'. He book certainly begins to throw a
little light into those shadows, and suggest a way of banishing
them. (Kirkus UK)
Only twenty years ago, English Identity was not in question. Indeed it was hardly recognized as a subject for discussion, except perhaps in rather an ironic vein. Now, as certainty has given way to concern and every aspect of national life is changing with revolutionary speed, the 'national question' is back on the agenda. Robert Colls's Identity of England tells the long and fascinating history of this old and powerful idea.
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