England in 1819: The Politics of Literary Culture and the Case of Romantic Historicism

In his book, Chandler offers a trenchant meditation on history. He argues, in essence, that works of literature don't merely reflect history, but sometimes seek to make it, and (more rarely still) sometimes succeed in doing so. His year of focus was one of immense political turmoil and of literary works that seemed sometimes to float above the ether. Chandler's goal is to draw the two together. Readers who dislike Chandler's book seem to have been thrown off their guard by its title -- "England in 1819" -- which in its simple, declarative style suggests a work of "historical tourism" along the lines of 'What Charles Dickens Ate and What Jane Austen Wore.' While I appreciate the distress of readers who thought they were getting a compendium of information on the average weight, height, and life-expectancy of your average Georgian citizen, the shameless racism displayed in some of the reviews below simply beggars comprehension. What on earth does the author's race have to do with the caliber of his scholarship? What does his gender have to do with it either? Ad hominem attacks on an author's race or gender are neither "post colonial" or "feminist". Such bigotry is really unbecoming.

If you are looking for a book on the Romantic period and the creation of modernity, full of trendy parrot squawks from the various "schools" of criticism diminishing the minds of tenure-hungry, vindictive graduate students, then do not even think of reading Chandler's masterpiece. This book, by a prodigal U. of Chicago professor, focuses the author's enormous intelligence and rare passion upon what seems to be his several lifetimes of scholarship and reading. It is, furthermore, beautifully written, something its confused detractors probably feel makes it only all the more valueless. If your mind is not entirely shut down by arrogance, you will treasure this book's lessons.