The Strange Death of Liberal England

pages are missing in this edition, others have been randomly double printed. avoid if possible

This book is a fascinating nugget of editorial history. A tale of the many (many!) mistakes the British government made in the years leading up to the First World War, George Dangerfield apparently found himself unable to conceal his outrage when reflecting on the sheer idiocy of every political party, the bulk of the members of Parliment, the Prime Minister(s) government(s) as well as the general public at large. This was a time of rapid change, when the great monarchies were finally dying and the pettiness and complexities of practising Democracy were beginning to polarize the masses with exetremism, fanaticism, and hysterical, ideology-based warnings from every side of the social, political and divine spectrum. The world was transformed into a speeding wheel of surging menace. It was little wonder to many that such a terrible war broke out (WWI, in this instance), only to be followed by the same mistakes being repeated over and over and over again (in the different light of new perspectives) throughout the coming generations. Dangerfield can finally only laugh at the genuine human comedy of such folly while shuddering in the consequence of a world bickering senselessly over unresolvable issues. A tremendous, timeless masterpiece.

I first read this book about 35 years ago as a student, when a relation of mine gave it to me. I was transfixed. How could any history come alive so much and be just so good ? I was studying history at Cambridge University at the time and in contrast to the dry as dust rubbish I was reading much of the time this book came across as an eye opener and showed me just how much fun history could be. Read it if you read no other history book ever again.

This book is the classic account of Edwardian Britain and is on the suggested reading list of the Institute for Edwardian Studies...It was written by a contemporary journalist and is a great read. However, it focuses a great deal on the political side and lacks objectivity. An excellent counter-weight to Dangerfield is David Powell, The Edwardian Crisis. This is a first-rate academic revision to what Dangerfield and past scholars have written about the Edwardian period, but it is not really for those new to the subject.

Whoever you are and whatever you do you can find soemthing to take away from this book. Essential for an understanding of politics in a democracy, and better because it gives readers an example to learn from, rather than just theory. Also a great study in human relationships and the tragi-comedic nature of life. Probably one of the best and wittiest books on history/politics ever written.

A broad middle-class consensus-based on free trade, free markets and personal liberty-ruled late Victorian England. The consensus collapsed in the first decade of the Twentieth Century. The House of Lords, with far greater powers than it has today, was reactionary and obstructionist. The Irish, the feminists and the labor unions demanded redress for grievances long neglected. The ruling Liberal Party was never able to broker meaningful compromises and the extremists on the left and the right grew more and more powerful. Faced with arson campaigns and general strikes at home and civil war in Ireland, the government seemed about to fall apart when World War I broke out. The Nineteenth Century was gone for good.It's a complicated history but Dangerfield tells it well. His writing is clear and often humorous, and he has a good sense of story. He never weighs you down with detail, but you never feel you've missed anything important. Some 65 years after it was written, this is as readable as ever. If you have any interest in modern English history, you must read this book.