A History of Modern Britain

Now available in a fully-revised and updated second edition, A History of Modern Britain: 1714 to the Present provides a comprehensive survey of the social, political, economic and cultural history of Great Britain from the Hanoverian succession to the present day.

• Places Britain in a global context, charting the rise and fall of the British empire and the influence of imperialism on the social, economic, and political developments of the home country
• Includes revised sections on imperialism and the industrial revolution that have been updated to reflect recent scholarship, a more reflective view on New Labour since its demise, and an all new section on the performance of the Conservative – Lib/Dem coalition that came into office in 2010
• Features illustrations, maps, an up-to-date bibliography, a full list of Prime Ministers, a genealogy of the royal family, and a comprehensive glossary explaining uniquely British terms, acronyms, and famous figures
• Spans topics as diverse as the slave trade, the novels of Charles Dickens, the Irish Potato Famine, the legalization of homosexuality, coalmines in South Wales, Antarctic exploration, and the invention of the computer
• Includes extensive reference to historiography

List of Figures ix

List of Tables xiii

List of Maps xiv

List of Biographies xv

Preface xvi

Acknowledgments xxii

Part I Uniting the Kingdoms 1

Chapter 1: The British Isles in 1714 3

Chapter 2: A New Beginning, 1714–62 41

Chapter 3: War and Revolution, 1763–1814 71

Part II The British Century 99

Chapter 4: A United Kingdom, 1815 101

Chapter 5: Reform, 1816–41 138

Chapter 6: Imperial Britain, 1842–84 167

Chapter 7: New Century, 1885–1913 201

Part III Dividing the Kingdoms 233

Chapter 8: The United Kingdom, 1914 235

Chapter 9: War and Peace and War, 1915–39 264

Chapter 10: The Warfare and Welfare State, 1940–79 297

Chapter 11: "New" Britain, 1980–2014 333

The Transformation of Britain 1688–1713 000
Available online at: www.wiley.com/go/wasson

Notes 365

Chronology 390

Glossary 395

Bibliography 403

List of Prime Ministers 412

Genealogy of the Royal Family 415

Index 417

ELLIS WASSON is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of History at the University of Delaware. He is the author of seven books, including Aristocracy and the Modern World (2006) and Born to Rule: British Political Elites (2000), and he has published more than two dozen articles on the history of British politics and European landed society in scholarly journals.

"This is a superb history of Britain for the past 300 years. Engagingly written, it provides the political, social, economic and cultural story as well as illuminating discussions of the different interpretations historians have made of the British past. Its readers will learn a lot as well as being given the tools to explore further."
—Peter Stansky, Stanford University

"Wasson offers a learned and elegant narrative and a provocative outlook that encourages readings "against the grain." Several sections are updated in this second edition, and its companion sources and documents volume remains indispensable."
—Susan Dabney Pennybacker, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Praise for the previous edition

"Ellis Wasson's history of modern Britain is written with style and wit, with insight and subtlety. He combines wide reading with clarity of exposition, and has a rare ability to use telling example and personal stories to explain general points. His book offers an outstanding introduction to British history in all its guises – political, social, economic, cultural and intellectual – and brings alive another society."
—Martin Daunton, University of Cambridge

Now available in a fully revised and updated second edition, A History of Modern Britain: 1714 to the Present provides a comprehensive, student-friendly survey of the history of Great Britain from the Hanoverian succession to the present day. Placing Britain in a global context, this bestselling introduction offers students who are new to British history a window into the social, economic, and political history of one of the most influential civilizations of the past 300 years. The new edition has been revised to incorporate the most up-to-date scholarship on imperialism and the industrial revolution, and includes a new section on the Conservative–Lib Dem coalition government elected in 2010. Extensive reference to historiography is threaded through the narrative. The text also incorporates an array of pedagogical features, including illustrations, maps, an extensive bibliography, a complete list of British prime ministers, a genealogy of the royal family, and a comprehensive glossary of British terms. Written in an engaging style and covering topics ranging from the Irish potato famine to the invention of the computer, the second edition of A History of Modern Britain: 1714 to the Present will be an indispensable guide for British history students and teachers alike.