The People's Bread: A History of the Anti-Corn Law League - Hardcover

Pickering, Paul A.; Tyrell, Alex

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0718502183 ISBN 13: 9780718502188

Publisher: Continnuum-3PL, 2000

Synopsis

The People's Bread Formed in 1839, the Anti-Corn Law League was one of the most important campaigns to introduce the ideas of economic liberalism into mainstream political discourse in Britain. This study of the Anti-Corn Law League makes use of recent methodological developments in social history.

About this title

Review:

"This is an important and significant book It represents a considerable advance on existing knowledge of the Anti-Corn Law League (ACLL) .Pickering and Tyrrell lead us through and beyond these doorways in a vivid and skillful exploration of the cultural and political baggage of ACLL supporters. The result is a volume that extends and challenges our knowledge of the League and its times .One reason why modern histories of this body have been so thin on the ground has probably derived from an abiding perception that it was worthy but dull. The authors of the present volume gleefully demolish this cliche .at the heart of the book lies a vivid account of the ACLL as political theatre, which skillfully explores the iconography and rituals of its lectures, dinners, bazaars and conferences .In its treatment of women this book constitutes a massive advance on existing knowledge Pickering and Tyrrell open up new ways of seeing not just the ACLL but also the cultural milieu of the early Victorian middle class." -Albion, June 2000

."..the authors capture and convey the vitality of the Anti Corn Law League and make it come alive...The valuable new perspectives afforded by The People's Bread reflect both the strengths and some of the weaknesses of recent historical methodologies." Albion

Synopsis:

Formed in 1839, the Anti-Corn Law League was one of the most important campaigns to introduce the ideas of economic liberalism into mainstream political discourse in Britain. Seeking the abolition of a tariff barrier that buttressed the economic and political power of the land-owning aristocracy, the League presented itself as the vanguard of the emerging industrial middle class in Victorian Britain. Its aspiration for free trade played a crucial role in defining the agenda of 19th-century liberalism and shaping the modern British state. The League's faith in the free market has had resonances in the debates debates over public policy in Britain during recent years, and it also set the pattern for individuals and groups which have stood outside the Establishment articulating alternative visions of society. This study of the Anti-Corn Law League makes use of recent methodological developments in social history.

About this edition

• Publisher: Continnuum-3PL
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0718502183
• ISBN 13: 9780718502188
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 316