Overview

This title explores the controversy surrounding the design of the new Foreign Office in London during Britain's Imperial heyday. In 1855 it was decided to build a new block of government offices in London, starting with the Foreign and War Offices. The government offices competition came at what was probably - looking back on it - the zenith of Britain's confidence as a nation and international power. One would expect the mid-Victorians to have felt, firstly, pride in their current national situation; and secondly, the urge to commemorate this in the most important national building to be projected in twenty years. Porter uses the debates surrounding the building of these important new monuments to interrogate the very fabric of British society, culture and nation building. The discussion on so many issues - religion, nationality, empire, history, modernism, truth, morality, gender - quite apart from considerations of 'pure' aesthetics, offers an unusual, perhaps even unique, insight into the relationship between these matters and the 'culture' of the time.

Full Product Details

9781441167392

Table of Contents

Reviews

'Porter tells this unedifying story in detail from the point of view of one interested in the British cultural, social and political contexts of the time, and he does so with zest...'--,

Although this debate has been covered by others, Porter's aim is to broaden discussion of it into what he considers to be its rightful context : Victorian society as a whole during the 1850s and 1860s. He generally tells this tale in a lively, engaging, and at times amusing fashion, bringing some new sources and insights to bear. - Alex Bremner, University of Edinburgh, Victorian Studies/Volume 55., No. 2

'Porter tells this unedifying story in detail from the point of view of one interested in the British cultural, social and political contexts of the time, and he does so with zest...'--Times Higher Education Supplement

Author Information

Bernard Porter is Emeritus Professor of Modern History, University of Newcastle, UK.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available