Overview

Full Product Details

9781108424738

Table of Contents

Reviews

Advance praise: 'Paul Readman is one of the most original scholars working today on the history of modern Britain, and this important and timely book will further enhance his already formidable reputation. His concern is to explore the many and multifarious ways in which perceptions and constructions of the English landscape, and not only natural but also man made, contributed to the development and articulation of English national identity from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries. He does this by looking at boundaries (the White Cliffs of Dover and Northumberland), at places deemed worthy of preservation (the Lake District and the New Forest), and at non-rural repositories of national identity (Manchester and the Thames Valley). Thus understood, English cultural nationalism was no mere pastoral retreat or escape into bucolic nostalgia, but was much more varied and vigorous, and as much engaged with the urban and industrial present as with the agricultural and rural past. This is a very important book, and it is beautifully written as well.' Sir David Cannadine, author of Margaret Thatcher: A Life and Legacy Advance praise: 'From the White Cliffs of Dover to the Northumberland Borders, this sparklingly written and engagingly imagined book takes the reader on a delightful and absorbing tour of some of the most 'storied' landscapes of modern England. En route it demonstrates the real diversity and multiple meanings of landscape in the remaking of politics and identities across the nineteenth century. Consistently surprising and persuasive.' Peter Mandler, author of The English National Character: The History of an Idea from Edmund Burke to Tony Blair Advance praise: 'Storied Ground considers six powerful landscapes of modern Englishness. Two are border countries. Two are places of outstanding national beauty. Two are towns, giving Readman the opportunity to think again about English ruralism. This is a compelling study of England profound, a vital subject in these Brexit times.' Robert Colls, author of George Orwell: English Rebel Advance praise: 'Storied Ground offers a vital account of how shifting attitudes towards landscape helped develop English and British national identities and democratic culture in the long nineteenth century. Preservationism in all its variety emerges as a radical and democratic agenda predicated on the notion that landscape was a 'national possession'. An important book, richly-documented and historiographically significant.' Matthew Kelly, author of Quartz and Feldspar. Dartmoor: A British Landscape in Modern Times

'Paul Readman is one of the most original scholars working today on the history of modern Britain, and this important and timely book will further enhance his already formidable reputation. His concern is to explore the many and multifarious ways in which perceptions and constructions of the English landscape, and not only natural but also man made, contributed to the development and articulation of English national identity from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries. He does this by looking at boundaries (the White Cliffs of Dover and Northumberland), at places deemed worthy of preservation (the Lake District and the New Forest), and at non-rural repositories of national identity (Manchester and the Thames Valley). Thus understood, English cultural nationalism was no mere pastoral retreat or escape into bucolic nostalgia, but was much more varied and vigorous, and as much engaged with the urban and industrial present as with the agricultural and rural past. This is a very important book, and it is beautifully written as well.' Sir David Cannadine, author of Margaret Thatcher: A Life and Legacy 'From the White Cliffs of Dover to the Northumberland Borders, this sparklingly written and engagingly imagined book takes the reader on a delightful and absorbing tour of some of the most 'storied' landscapes of modern England. En route it demonstrates the real diversity and multiple meanings of landscape in the remaking of politics and identities across the nineteenth century. Consistently surprising and persuasive.' Peter Mandler, author of The English National Character: The History of an Idea from Edmund Burke to Tony Blair 'Storied Ground considers six powerful landscapes of modern Englishness. Two are border countries. Two are places of outstanding national beauty. Two are towns, giving Readman the opportunity to think again about English ruralism. This is a compelling study of England profound, a vital subject in these Brexit times.' Robert Colls, author of George Orwell: English Rebel 'Storied Ground offers a vital account of how shifting attitudes towards landscape helped develop English and British national identities and democratic culture in the long nineteenth century. Preservationism in all its variety emerges as a radical and democratic agenda predicated on the notion that landscape was a 'national possession'. An important book, richly-documented and historiographically significant.' Matthew Kelly, author of Quartz and Feldspar. Dartmoor: A British Landscape in Modern Times

'Paul Readman is one of the most original scholars working today on the history of modern Britain, and this important and timely book will further enhance his already formidable reputation. His concern is to explore the many and multifarious ways in which perceptions and constructions of the English landscape, and not only natural but also man made, contributed to the development and articulation of English national identity from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries. He does this by looking at boundaries (the White Cliffs of Dover and Northumberland), at places deemed worthy of preservation (the Lake District and the New Forest), and at non-rural repositories of national identity (Manchester and the Thames Valley). Thus understood, English cultural nationalism was no mere pastoral retreat or escape into bucolic nostalgia, but was much more varied and vigorous, and as much engaged with the urban and industrial present as with the agricultural and rural past. This is a very important book, and it is beautifully written as well.' Sir David Cannadine, author of Margaret Thatcher: A Life and Legacy 'From the White Cliffs of Dover to the Northumberland Borders, this sparklingly written and engagingly imagined book takes the reader on a delightful and absorbing tour of some of the most 'storied' landscapes of modern England. En route it demonstrates the real diversity and multiple meanings of landscape in the remaking of politics and identities across the nineteenth century. Consistently surprising and persuasive.' Peter Mandler, author of The English National Character: The History of an Idea from Edmund Burke to Tony Blair 'Storied Ground considers six powerful landscapes of modern Englishness. Two are border countries. Two are places of outstanding national beauty. Two are towns, giving Readman the opportunity to think again about English ruralism. This is a compelling study of England profound, a vital subject in these Brexit times.' Robert Colls, author of George Orwell: English Rebel 'Storied Ground offers a vital account of how shifting attitudes towards landscape helped develop English and British national identities and democratic culture in the long nineteenth century. Preservationism in all its variety emerges as a radical and democratic agenda predicated on the notion that landscape was a 'national possession'. An important book, richly-documented and historiographically significant.' Matthew Kelly, author of Quartz and Feldspar. Dartmoor: A British Landscape in Modern Times 'Following an introduction that explores the picturesque, symbolic, and heritage associations of' 'storied ground' with place, the focus shifts to the theme of the shaping of English identity. Six regional studies are set in the long nineteenth century from the French Revolution (1789) to WWI (1914), when mythic rural homelands were important in an age of urbanization, industrialization, and modernity ... A conclusion offers a rich reprise of the 'multifarious ways' landscape contributed to English national identity before 1914. Its forty figures, 200 references, and over 1,000 footnotes make Storied Ground a foundational source in landscape and identity studies. Highly recommended.' B. Osborne, Choice 'Given the recent controversies surrounding immigration and Brexit, this timely enquiry into the shaping of English national identity is supremely relevant ... stimulating and authoritative ...' Paul Elliott, Environmental History 'Paul Readman is one of the most original scholars working today on the history of modern Britain, and this important and timely book will further enhance his already formidable reputation. His concern is to explore the many and multifarious ways in which perceptions and constructions of the English landscape, and not only natural but also man made, contributed to the development and articulation of English national identity from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries. He does this by looking at boundaries (the White Cliffs of Dover and Northumberland), at places deemed worthy of preservation (the Lake District and the New Forest), and at non-rural repositories of national identity (Manchester and the Thames Valley). Thus understood, English cultural nationalism was no mere pastoral retreat or escape into bucolic nostalgia, but was much more varied and vigorous, and as much engaged with the urban and industrial present as with the agricultural and rural past. This is a very important book, and it is beautifully written as well.' Sir David Cannadine, author of Margaret Thatcher: A Life and Legacy 'From the White Cliffs of Dover to the Northumberland Borders, this sparklingly written and engagingly imagined book takes the reader on a delightful and absorbing tour of some of the most 'storied' landscapes of modern England. En route it demonstrates the real diversity and multiple meanings of landscape in the remaking of politics and identities across the nineteenth century. Consistently surprising and persuasive.' Peter Mandler, author of The English National Character: The History of an Idea from Edmund Burke to Tony Blair 'Storied Ground considers six powerful landscapes of modern Englishness. Two are border countries. Two are places of outstanding national beauty. Two are towns, giving Readman the opportunity to think again about English ruralism. This is a compelling study of England profound, a vital subject in these Brexit times.' Robert Colls, author of George Orwell: English Rebel 'Storied Ground offers a vital account of how shifting attitudes towards landscape helped develop English and British national identities and democratic culture in the long nineteenth century. Preservationism in all its variety emerges as a radical and democratic agenda predicated on the notion that landscape was a `national possession'. An important book, richly-documented and historiographically significant.' Matthew Kelly, author of Quartz and Feldspar. Dartmoor: A British Landscape in Modern Times 'Following an introduction that explores the picturesque, symbolic, and heritage associations of' `storied ground' with place, the focus shifts to the theme of the shaping of English identity. Six regional studies are set in the long nineteenth century from the French Revolution (1789) to WWI (1914), when mythic rural homelands were important in an age of urbanization, industrialization, and modernity ... A conclusion offers a rich reprise of the `multifarious ways' landscape contributed to English national identity before 1914. Its forty figures, 200 references, and over 1,000 footnotes make Storied Ground a foundational source in landscape and identity studies. Highly recommended.' B. Osborne, Choice 'Given the recent controversies surrounding immigration and Brexit, this timely enquiry into the shaping of English national identity is supremely relevant ... stimulating and authoritative ...' Paul Elliott, Environmental History

Author Information

Paul Readman is Professor of Modern British History at King's College London. He is author of Land and Nation: Patriotism, National Identity and the Politics of Land (2008). His other publications include, as co-editor, The Land Question in Britain (2010), Borderlands in World History, 1700–1914 (2014) and Walking Histories, 1800–1914 (2016), as well as many articles and essays. As a keen walker and perpetual tourist, he has a long-standing interest in the diverse ways that human experience shapes, and is shaped by, landscape and place.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available