[A] scholarly study which sheds much light on the marginalisation of a peculiarly reticent culture.

Paul Lay, BBC History Magazine, Book of the Year 2004

[A] tonic re-assessment that assigns as much significance to the cheap and post modern as to the barnacled bulwarks of English culture.

Gordon Burn, The Observer, Book of the Year 2003

Of the many books that have come out about the question of England over the past few years, Robert Coll's Identity of England brings together serious scholarship, the pulse of the personal and a passion for inquiry into this compelling subject.

Melvyn Bragg, The Observer, Books of the Year 2002

Se alle

Provocatively argued and pungently expressed ... A crucial issue [and] a great book ... It is thought-provoking, sophisticated, drawing on a wide range of intellectual resources, and offering hard-edged analysis.

Stephen Howe, The Independent

Colls' probing new study shows that the English have been reinventing themselves all along ... A fine and engagingly personal book.

John Gardiner, BBC History Magazine

One of the finest books on this complex and difficult subject it is possible to imagine.

Simon Heffer, Literary Review

[Identity of England] sinks deep shafts into the national history.

Paul Laity, London Review of Books

A highly focused assessment of our national self ... Colls is strong on the economic and political imperatives at play ... The discussion is coherent and well documented and the concluding section, "England Now", is pretty chilling.

Tribune

[Identity of England] allies brilliant perception with common sense.

Michael Kerrigan, The Scotsman (Four Stars)

[The] best introduction to the English example.

J M Roberts, Oxford Magazine

A totally fascinating sweep across the subject.

Melvyn Bragg, The Good Book Guide

Colls has produced a deeply felt, zestfully written book which makes an important contribution to the ongoing debate about the national identity.

Jeffrey Richards, Cultural and Social History

[The] breadth of reading and allusion recalls the late Raphael Samuel.

Hugh Kearney, History Workshop Journal

[A] masterly summary of the emergence of the idea of an English nation ... a profound and balanced account.

Bernard Crick, Political Quarterly

Sensitive, subtle, deeply human.

Chris Williams, American Historical Review

[A] sophisticated and scholarly study of some breadth.

Munira Mirza, Culture Wars

This is us he's writing about...

Munira Mirza, Q News

The English stand now in need of a new sense of home and belonging - a reassessment of who they are. This is a history of who they were, written from the perspective of the twenty-first century. It begins by considering how the English state identified an English nation which, from very early days, seems to have seen itself as not simply the creature of state or king. It considers also how in modern times the English nation survived shattering revolutions in technology, urban living, and global conflict, while at the same time retaining a softer, more human vision of themselves as a people in touch with their nature and their land. They claimed that there was more to living in England than work and wages, there was more to running a vast empire than just exploiting it. For all its faults and inequalities, they identified with their state. For all their shortcomings they were confident of their place in history. As little as forty years ago, these ideas were not much in doubt. Though vague and often contradictory, they held together as the English people held together -as a whole. Indeed, 'Englishness' was hardly recognized as a subject for analysis, except perhaps in a rather ironic and self-mocking vein. But now 'the national question' is back and history is at the top of the agenda. From a rich store of historical memory and possibility, Robert Colls connects the identity of England in the past with the changing and uncertain identity of England today.
Les mer
Only 40 years ago, English identity was not in question. 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.
Les mer
Introduction ; BUILDING THE NATION ; 1. The Law Becomes You ; 2. Uniting the Kingdoms ; 3. Constituting the Modern Nation ; EXTENDING THE STATE ; 4 Modern Gentlemanly Progress ; 5 The Nation over Itself ; 6 Colonials ; 7. Women and Workers ; 8. Loyalties ; POST-IMPERIAL REFORMATION ; 9. Forward March Halted ; 10. Imagined Nation ; 11. Reconstituting the Nation ; Bridgehead ; BUILDING THE HOMELAND ; 12. England as a Garden ; 13. Wasteland ; 14. Island ; 15. Natives ; 16. Journeys ; ABSORBING THE PEOPLE ; 17. Celts ; 18. National Properties ; 19. Common People ; 20. Left-over People ; ENGLAND NOW ; 21. Anarchy in the UK? ; 22. Thinking with England ; Conclusion ; Select Bibliography ; Index
Les mer
`Review from previous edition Colls' probing new study shows that the English have been reinventing themselves all along... A fine and engagingly personal book.' BBC History Magazine `One of the most interesting history books for some years.' The Good Book Guide `A rigorously scholarly account of why England and the English are as they are... One of the finest books on this complex and difficult subject it is possible to imagine.' Literary Review `Provocatively argued and pungently expressed.' Stephen Howe -The Independent `A totally fascinating sweep across the subject.' Melvyn Bragg
Les mer
BBC History Magazine's Book of the Month At the heart of current national debates - Europe, devolution, Northern Ireland, multi-culturalism Scholarly but written with general reader in mind 16 pages of evocative photographs Illustrates his arguments with examples from literature, architecture, and popular music
Les mer
BBC History Magazine's Book of the Month At the heart of current national debates - Europe, devolution, Northern Ireland, multi-culturalism Scholarly but written with general reader in mind 16 pages of evocative photographs Illustrates his arguments with examples from literature, architecture, and popular music
Les mer

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780199269945
Publisert
2004
Utgiver
Oxford University Press
Vekt
673 gr
Høyde
234 mm
Bredde
156 mm
Dybde
24 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
426

Forfatter