Nineteenth-Century Britain: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

by Christopher Harvie and Colin Matthew

First published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, Christopher Harvie and Colin Matthew's Very Short Introduction to Nineteenth-Century Britain is a sharp but subtle account of remarkable economic and social change and an even more remarkable political stability. Britain in 1789 was overwhelmingly rural, agrarian, multilingual, and almost half Celtic. By 1914, when it faced its greatest test since the defeat of
Napoleon, it was largely urban and English. Christopher Harvie and Colin Matthew show the forces behind Britain's rise to its imperial zenith, and the continuing tensions within the nations and classes of the 'union state'.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

• ISBN10: 0192853988
• ISBN13: 9780192853981
• Publish Date: 10 August 2000
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Oxford University Press
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 192
• Language: English

Reviews

[celinenyx]

Meh.

This Very Short Introduction focusses on the political history of Britain, and even then, does it pretty badly. Rather than providing a concise overview of the political climate, the writers too often resort to redundant detail and distracting asides. For someone interested in the cultural history, this book was basically useless. It also manages to almost completely gloss over the consequences of colonialism, while the subsection called "Women" contains just one page of text.