The Mid-Victorian Generation: 1846-1886 (New Oxford History of England) - Hardcover

Hoppen, K. Theodore

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198228341 ISBN 13: 9780198228349

Publisher: Clarendon Press, 1998

Synopsis

This, the third volume to appear in the New Oxford History of England, covers the period from the repeal of the Corn Laws to the dramatic failure of Gladstone's first Home Rule Bill. In his magisterial study of the mid-Victorian generation, Theodore Hoppen identifies three defining themes.

The first he calls `established industrialism' - the growing acceptance that factory life and manufacturing had come to stay. It was during these four decades that the balance of employment shifted irrevocably. For the first time in history, more people were employed in industry than worked on the land.

The second concerns the `multiple national identities' of the constituent parts of the United Kingdom. Dr Hoppen's study of the histories of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the Empire reveals the existence of a variety of particular and overlapping national traditions flourishing alongside the increasingly influential structure of the unitary state.

The third defining theme is that of `interlocking spheres' which the author uses to illuminate the formation of public culture in the period. This, he argues, was generated not by a series of influences operating independently from each other, but by a variety of intermeshed political, economic, scientific, literary and artistic developments.

This original and authoritative book will define these pivotal forty years in British history for the next generation.

About this title

Review:

Theodore Hoppen's book will define our views of mid-Victorian society for the next two or three generations, and well it should. It is a book written from deep knowledge, wide reading and sparkling historical vision; students and scholars will gain much from reading it. (D. G. Paz, An American Journal - Quarterly Journal devoted to British Studies)

Hoppen's splendid volume in the New Oxford History of England series surpasses in organisation, interpretation, and breadth of treatment its predecessors. (D.G. Paz, An American Journal - Quarterly Journal devoted to British Studies)

The final judgement after 700 pages has to be one of admiration and commendation for Hoppen's magnificent achievement - his handling of the vast literature, his polymathic grasp of an extremely diverse subject matter, and his exceptionally readable prose...he has produced a worthy successor to Woodward and Ensor that will have its place among those authoritative texts on Victorian Britain to which students first turn for guidance. (David Nicholls, Victorian Studies)

Hoppen's splendid volume in the New Oxford History of England series surpasses in organization, interpretation, and breadth of treatment its predecessors...Theodore Hoppen's book will define our views of mid-Victorian society for the next two or three generations, and well it should. It is a book written from deep knowledge, wide reading, and sparkling historical vision; students and scholars will gain much from reading it. D G Paz, University of North Texas

[A]...magnificent achievement - his [Hoppen's] handling of the vast literature, his polymathic grasp of an extremely diverse subject matter, and his exceptionally readable prose...[have] produced a worthy successor to Woodward and Enson that will have its place among those authoritative texts on Victorian Britain to which students first turn for guidance. David Nicholls, Victorian Studies

This stimulating and comprehensive volume provides eloquent justification for the study of modern British history. It should remain an invaluable source of knowledge for today's political class which seems strangely contemptuous and ignorant of this country's past. (Robert Taylor, Spectator)

[An] impressive study of mid-Victorian Britain. (Asa Briggs, THES)

It is a measure of Hoppen's achievement that he manages to convey this rich and nuanced picture of Britain between 1846 and 1886 with prodigious learning and total conviction, but without ever losing control or being overwhelmed by his own erudition...a magnificant work. (David Cannadine, New Statesman)

An account marked by an acute judiciousness and, as always, enviable scholarship. (Michael Bentley, TLS)

[A] welcome development in Victorian historiography...The Mid-Victorian generation, with all the scholarly trappings of a volume in an Oxford history, is the benchmark against which the next few decades of scholarship will be tested ... The Mid-Victorian Generation amounts to a comprehensive, fair and indispensible review of the last thirty years of scholarly work on the period. Professor Hoppen has rendered an older complex historiography more intelligible. The book will quickly take its place alongside those other vital tools of the Victorian specialist. (Dr Miles Taylor, Kings College, UCL, Reviews in History)

About the Author:

Theodore K. Hoppen is Professor in History at the University of Hull.

About this edition

• Publisher: Clarendon Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0198228341
• ISBN 13: 9780198228349
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 808