Publisher's Synopsis
The very best sort of panoramic portrait, full of vivid characters, emblematic anecdotes and telling social detail, all underpinned by penetrating historical judgement. The Edwardians have fascinated readers for more than a century, yet even those who think they know the period will find much to discover and savour in Alwyn Turner's sometimes unsettling but always life-enhancing pages. - David Kynaston, author ― A Northern Wind
When Queen Victoria died in 1901 it was the end of an era. Britain's dominance stretched across seven continents and its ruling classes were wealthier than ever before. Many later remembered the decade or so that followed as the long afternoon of an empire where the sun never set. Yet the Edwardians themselves were acutely aware that the country was in a state of flux; the seismic change that they felt would transform modern Britain forever.
In Little Englanders, Alwyn Turner reconsiders the Edwardian era as a time of profound social change, with the rise of women's suffrage and the labour movement, unrest in Ireland and the Boer republics, scandals in parliament and culture wars at home. He tells the story of the Edwardians through music halls and male beauty contests, the real Peaky Blinders and the 1908 Summer Olympics. In this colourful, detailed and hugely entertaining social history, Turner shows that, though the golden Victorian age was in the past, the birth of modern Britain was only just beginning.
In Little Englanders, Alwyn Turner reveals striking parallels between Britain in decline at the start of the 20th century and our own divisive age ... [a] page-turner of a popular history of the period, crammed with humour and striking quotes - Andrew Marr ― New Statesman
Engrossing ... Alwyn Turner is an assured guide to this brief but dramatic era ― Daily Telegraph
Well written, often fascinating ... Alwyn Turner draws on popular culture to show how violent protest and unrest followed the old queen's death, making nonsense of the fabled Edwardian golden summer - Simon Heffer ― Spectator
The Edwardians have long been the lost decade of British history, yet they are that history at its climax. Alwyn Turner sets the record straight, bringing its characters, strains and stresses brilliantly to life - Simon Jenkins
