British History 1815-1914

Book excerpt: This fully revised and updated edition of Norman McCord's authoritative introduction to nineteenth century British history has been extended to cover the period up to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. The nineteenth and early twentieth century saw the transformation of Britain from a predominantly rural to a largely urban society with an economy based upon manufacturing, finance, and trade, and from a society governed mainly by a landed aristocracy to what was increasingly a mass democracy. The authors chart the development of a modern state equipped with a large and expanding bureaucracy, the expansion of overseas territories into one of the world's greatest empires, and changes in religion, social attitudes, and culture. The book divides the era into four chronological periods, with chapters on the political background, administrative development, and social, economic, and cultural changes in each period. Exploring major themes such as the massive increase in population, the question of class, the scope of state activity, and the development of consumerism, leisure, and entertainment, and including a select bibliography and biographical appendix, this updated new edition provides the ultimate introduction to British history between the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the outbreak of the First World War.