Author: Matthew Roberts
Edition: First
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Pages: 231
Price: £55.00 and £19.99
ISBN: 9781403949110 and 91
There is a plethora of books on the shaping of modern political culture in 19th-century Britain, and this is the most up-to-date. Roberts’ grasp of the historiography is impressive. The book is well organised and comprehensive, covering major political events and movements from the Great Reform Act (1832) to the outbreak of the First World War. Roberts allies the study of key individuals and groups with a clear evaluation of ideologies, such as citizenship, democracy, liberalism and modernisation.
Who is it for? It is part of the British History in Perspective series, which is consciously and successfully aimed at undergraduates. It masters that brief well.
Presentation: Chronological but thematic analysis in clear, short chapters.
Would you recommend it? Yes. The field is crowded, but Roberts has a novel and lucid approach.
