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The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy by DAVID CANNADINE
Deftly orchestrating an enormous array of documents and letters, facts and statistics, Cannadine shows how the prestige, prosperity, and political significance of the British aristocracy shifted between the outset of the 1870s and the end of the 1930s. 129 illustrations.
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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About the author
David Cannadine
70 books73 followersSir David Cannadine FBA FRSL FSA FRHistS is a British author and historian, who specialises in modern history and the history of business and philanthropy.
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October 24, 2025
A Social and Political History of the UK
The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy by Sir David Cannadine is a poignant tale of the transformation of the ruling class from ‘proud, confident roaring lions to elusive and mythical unicorns.’ Cannadine seeks to explain why in the 1870s this group who were in control of the largest and most successful Empire on earth disappeared within 100 years. Other countries such as Russia, Germany or Austria can pinpoint an single event to the demise of their landed nobility, but in the UK it is quintessentially different.
This is a intricate study of the political and social history of Great Britain and highlights the key themes answering how and why. Explaining that three key issues, the land reform in Ireland, the mass killings in France and Belgium in WWI and the huge sales of land in the 1920s to meet taxes and death duties crippled aristocrats. However, further bullets for the dying animal are offered, including the professionalisation of their traditional occupations such as the church, military or law where they weee outcompeted by middle class men or politics were they were found to not represent the populace with the extension of the franchise.
The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy is a tour de force due to its extraordinary depth of research. Cannadine draws on a vast array of primary sources, including estate archives, parliamentary records, and contemporary commentary, to produce a comprehensive portrait of the aristocracy’s changing fortunes. The study’s scope is impressive, encompassing the economic effects of the agricultural depression, the impact of democratic reform on political influence, and the social and cultural shifts that undermined aristocratic values. This meticulous attention to evidence gives the work both scholarly authority and narrative richness.
Cannadine shows his skill as a scholar as he s able to integrate economic, political, and cultural history into a coherent whole. He resists simplistic explanations of decline, such as class struggle or inevitable modernisation and instead shows how multiple, interlinked factors brought about the aristocracy’s fall. His argument that decline was uneven and contingent, with some families adapting successfully while others collapsed, adds complexity and realism to his analysis. The book’s engaging prose and vivid storytelling further enhance its appeal, making it accessible to both academic and general audiences. Moreover, Cannadine’s challenge to earlier historiography, particularly his rejection of the idea that aristocratic power simply adapted or persisted was highly influential. By insisting that the decline was real and far-reaching, he reshaped debates about continuity and change in modern British society.
However, as I have mentioned above the work is not without its weaknesses. Many historians have criticised Cannadine’s overarching narrative of ‘decline and fall’ as too deterministic and dramatic, echoing Gibbon’s model of historical collapse. Later studies, such of those by Peter Mandler and Lawrence Stone) have suggested that the aristocracy’s power was not extinguished but transformed, with continued influence in politics, culture, and business. Cannadine’s focus on the traditional landed elite also limits the scope of his analysis. He pays little attention to how aristocrats interacted with or became part of the new industrial and financial elites, leading to a somewhat narrow conception of the upper class.
Additionally, the The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy has notable blind spots in its treatment of gender and empire. Cannadine largely overlooks the crucial roles women played in sustaining aristocratic influence through marriage alliances, estate management, and philanthropy. Similarly, he gives insufficient attention to the British Empire, which provided many aristocrats with new sources of wealth, prestige, and power even as their domestic influence waned. The study’s focus on England further contributes to an Anglocentric bias, neglecting the distinctive experiences of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, where patterns of aristocratic adaptation were often different.
Methodologically, The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy remains rooted in traditional political and economic history, and while this gives it clarity, it also limits its engagement with newer cultural or anthropological approaches. The chronological narrative, though compelling, occasionally prioritises storytelling over analytical depth. Nonetheless, these weaknesses do little to diminish the book’s overall impact.
The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy is beyond the realms of a popular history book, leaning more to the academic bit this did not put me off as Cannadine can write, can think and can explain. I have seen criticism before where readers have become bored of ‘endless listings of names’, but how can Cannadine prove a point without providing evidence and showing themes for a group of 7000 families. Therefore explaining one person’s journey is not enough. This book is for anyone interested in the late Victorian period and early 20th century this is for you as it explains the huge social change which occurred by a class that simply walked away. As a result I kind of miss them and better understand my country for it.
The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy by Sir David Cannadine is a poignant tale of the transformation of the ruling class from ‘proud, confident roaring lions to elusive and mythical unicorns.’ Cannadine seeks to explain why in the 1870s this group who were in control of the largest and most successful Empire on earth disappeared within 100 years. Other countries such as Russia, Germany or Austria can pinpoint an single event to the demise of their landed nobility, but in the UK it is quintessentially different.
This is a intricate study of the political and social history of Great Britain and highlights the key themes answering how and why. Explaining that three key issues, the land reform in Ireland, the mass killings in France and Belgium in WWI and the huge sales of land in the 1920s to meet taxes and death duties crippled aristocrats. However, further bullets for the dying animal are offered, including the professionalisation of their traditional occupations such as the church, military or law where they weee outcompeted by middle class men or politics were they were found to not represent the populace with the extension of the franchise.
The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy is a tour de force due to its extraordinary depth of research. Cannadine draws on a vast array of primary sources, including estate archives, parliamentary records, and contemporary commentary, to produce a comprehensive portrait of the aristocracy’s changing fortunes. The study’s scope is impressive, encompassing the economic effects of the agricultural depression, the impact of democratic reform on political influence, and the social and cultural shifts that undermined aristocratic values. This meticulous attention to evidence gives the work both scholarly authority and narrative richness.
Cannadine shows his skill as a scholar as he s able to integrate economic, political, and cultural history into a coherent whole. He resists simplistic explanations of decline, such as class struggle or inevitable modernisation and instead shows how multiple, interlinked factors brought about the aristocracy’s fall. His argument that decline was uneven and contingent, with some families adapting successfully while others collapsed, adds complexity and realism to his analysis. The book’s engaging prose and vivid storytelling further enhance its appeal, making it accessible to both academic and general audiences. Moreover, Cannadine’s challenge to earlier historiography, particularly his rejection of the idea that aristocratic power simply adapted or persisted was highly influential. By insisting that the decline was real and far-reaching, he reshaped debates about continuity and change in modern British society.
However, as I have mentioned above the work is not without its weaknesses. Many historians have criticised Cannadine’s overarching narrative of ‘decline and fall’ as too deterministic and dramatic, echoing Gibbon’s model of historical collapse. Later studies, such of those by Peter Mandler and Lawrence Stone) have suggested that the aristocracy’s power was not extinguished but transformed, with continued influence in politics, culture, and business. Cannadine’s focus on the traditional landed elite also limits the scope of his analysis. He pays little attention to how aristocrats interacted with or became part of the new industrial and financial elites, leading to a somewhat narrow conception of the upper class.
Additionally, the The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy has notable blind spots in its treatment of gender and empire. Cannadine largely overlooks the crucial roles women played in sustaining aristocratic influence through marriage alliances, estate management, and philanthropy. Similarly, he gives insufficient attention to the British Empire, which provided many aristocrats with new sources of wealth, prestige, and power even as their domestic influence waned. The study’s focus on England further contributes to an Anglocentric bias, neglecting the distinctive experiences of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, where patterns of aristocratic adaptation were often different.
Methodologically, The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy remains rooted in traditional political and economic history, and while this gives it clarity, it also limits its engagement with newer cultural or anthropological approaches. The chronological narrative, though compelling, occasionally prioritises storytelling over analytical depth. Nonetheless, these weaknesses do little to diminish the book’s overall impact.
The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy is beyond the realms of a popular history book, leaning more to the academic bit this did not put me off as Cannadine can write, can think and can explain. I have seen criticism before where readers have become bored of ‘endless listings of names’, but how can Cannadine prove a point without providing evidence and showing themes for a group of 7000 families. Therefore explaining one person’s journey is not enough. This book is for anyone interested in the late Victorian period and early 20th century this is for you as it explains the huge social change which occurred by a class that simply walked away. As a result I kind of miss them and better understand my country for it.
December 16, 2021
I re-read "Decline and Fall" this year and I enjoyed it almost as much as when I first read it for work. Cannadine's book is hefty, both in length and ambition, with the latter necessitating the former, running to 708 pages, excluding the index and bibliography and covering in detail the aristocracies in all four parts of the United Kingdom from the 1880s to the aftermath of the Second World War. The book opens with a poem from Keith Douglas who, on serving with various aristocrats in the war, characterised them as,
" .... Unicorns, almost,
For they are fading into two legends
in which their stupidity and chivalry
are celebrated. ..."
Cannadine seeks to answer his self-set question of, "how, when, and why did this pride of lions decay into a fable of unicorns?" Or, how did a class that once shaped and dominated history end up becoming either its passive observers or victims as they faded into a collective irrelevance through which, as Douglas said, they would either be immortalised as symbols of a vanished chivalry or culturally castigated as a tribe of villainous morons?
The book succeeds by allowing itself the scope to explore each facet of this decline, which also allows Cannadine's expertise and research to shine. Epic histories, despite, or in fact perhaps because of, their length often prove popular with readers and Cannadine's "Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy," like its near contemporary in Simon Schama's "Citizens," is an excellent example of why.
" .... Unicorns, almost,
For they are fading into two legends
in which their stupidity and chivalry
are celebrated. ..."
Cannadine seeks to answer his self-set question of, "how, when, and why did this pride of lions decay into a fable of unicorns?" Or, how did a class that once shaped and dominated history end up becoming either its passive observers or victims as they faded into a collective irrelevance through which, as Douglas said, they would either be immortalised as symbols of a vanished chivalry or culturally castigated as a tribe of villainous morons?
The book succeeds by allowing itself the scope to explore each facet of this decline, which also allows Cannadine's expertise and research to shine. Epic histories, despite, or in fact perhaps because of, their length often prove popular with readers and Cannadine's "Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy," like its near contemporary in Simon Schama's "Citizens," is an excellent example of why.
November 8, 2021
A very interesting account , a reminder , that social financial and political power in England underwent a revolution between 1870 and today .
The revolution was bloodless and long lasting
It began when the price of wheat dropped during the 1880s . The gradual increase of tonnage being shipped because of steam , allowed large quantiles of arable produce to enter Europe from the US and elsewhere , reducing prices .
The Brits refused to slam tariffs on imports , because the new electorate enfranchised in 1885 were townies and liked the lower food prices in the shops.
The aristos then came under further pressure from the great Aristo hater - David Lloyd George , who had as objective the doing in of the titled and landowning class .
So death duties and taxes were introduced from 1900 onwards which combined with the collapse in arable and estate incomes , led to the great sell off of land and estates .
The enfranchisement of the great mass of the country during the early 1900s led to a nation of voters whose interests were decidedly NOT landowners’ and the squirearchy’s interests
And so it continued .. to this day .
A very interesting read. I’ve no problem with the aristocracy either today or in the past : but it is an extraordinary fact that this group of perhaps 1000 families or more had the run of nearly everything for many years until they were undone as this book reveals. The aristocracy still exists but their role is now tiny and not quite how “the other half “ lives
The revolution was bloodless and long lasting
It began when the price of wheat dropped during the 1880s . The gradual increase of tonnage being shipped because of steam , allowed large quantiles of arable produce to enter Europe from the US and elsewhere , reducing prices .
The Brits refused to slam tariffs on imports , because the new electorate enfranchised in 1885 were townies and liked the lower food prices in the shops.
The aristos then came under further pressure from the great Aristo hater - David Lloyd George , who had as objective the doing in of the titled and landowning class .
So death duties and taxes were introduced from 1900 onwards which combined with the collapse in arable and estate incomes , led to the great sell off of land and estates .
The enfranchisement of the great mass of the country during the early 1900s led to a nation of voters whose interests were decidedly NOT landowners’ and the squirearchy’s interests
And so it continued .. to this day .
A very interesting read. I’ve no problem with the aristocracy either today or in the past : but it is an extraordinary fact that this group of perhaps 1000 families or more had the run of nearly everything for many years until they were undone as this book reveals. The aristocracy still exists but their role is now tiny and not quite how “the other half “ lives
September 10, 2009
Although not based on much original research, this book does a good job presenting in a clear and thoughtful manner the continuous, gradual loss of wealth, status, and power of the English aristocracy. Britain was unique in that this occurred without revolutionary overthrow. Because the aristocracy is a relatively small group Cannadine is able to cover the topic fairly exhaustively, and this study includes many lesser-known figures. It covers the period directly after that analyzed in F.M.L. Thompson's English Landed Society in the 19th Century, and is probably more striking if you read that first.
November 19, 2025
Lawrence Stone concludes his very fine review of the extraordinary work (see: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v12/n... I highly recommend reading it) with the following words:
"Steven Runciman once said that ‘the supreme duty of the historian is to ... record in one sweeping sequence the greater events and movements that have swayed the destinies of man.’ David Cannadine has done just that for the decline of the British landed establishment, although he explicitly argues – quite rightly – that it is pure coincidence that this decline of a class coincided with the decline of Britain as a great power. This is history at its very best..."
This is a magnificent history and what I find fascinating is the light it throws on larger issues, like Britain's policies in Ireland in the 19th century were at first it was hoped by English aristocratic politicians that the landlord class would play the role they did in the UK as local leaders and people of importance to counter act the spread of nationalist agitation. But when it was realised they could not (and for anyone interested in the roots of why this wasn't possible I highly recommend 'Making Ireland English' by Jane Ohlmeyer) they were effectively abandoned (the fate of Ireland's ascendancy has been given a more detailed look in 'The Decline of the Big House in Ireland: A Study of Irish Landed Families, 1860-1960' by Terence A.M. Dooley). Surprisingly quickly England's great landed and titled families would be facing their own superfluousness.
But looking at the British aristocracy 35 years after this book was written their tenacious survival is what is most obvious, there are still hereditary peers in the House of Lords (though that may end soon) but what is most obvious is that while there is no doubt that the English aristocracy has fallen far from its 19th century height it has, compared to its continental confrères, done rather well not least in the cultural cachet they hold. How many people know, or care, that the Spanish king continues to grant titles of nobility including bestowing a hereditary title of Marquess to the tennis player Rafael Nadal? The UK monarch stopped creating hereditary titles back in the 1950s. But I don't think there is a 'Downton Abbey' equivalent in Spain and the mellow way the rapacious selfishness and class arrogance has been soft soaped into National Trust view of British aristocrats as 'national treasures' would have surprised their early 20th century enemies.
This a wonderful history and deserves to be read.
"Steven Runciman once said that ‘the supreme duty of the historian is to ... record in one sweeping sequence the greater events and movements that have swayed the destinies of man.’ David Cannadine has done just that for the decline of the British landed establishment, although he explicitly argues – quite rightly – that it is pure coincidence that this decline of a class coincided with the decline of Britain as a great power. This is history at its very best..."
This is a magnificent history and what I find fascinating is the light it throws on larger issues, like Britain's policies in Ireland in the 19th century were at first it was hoped by English aristocratic politicians that the landlord class would play the role they did in the UK as local leaders and people of importance to counter act the spread of nationalist agitation. But when it was realised they could not (and for anyone interested in the roots of why this wasn't possible I highly recommend 'Making Ireland English' by Jane Ohlmeyer) they were effectively abandoned (the fate of Ireland's ascendancy has been given a more detailed look in 'The Decline of the Big House in Ireland: A Study of Irish Landed Families, 1860-1960' by Terence A.M. Dooley). Surprisingly quickly England's great landed and titled families would be facing their own superfluousness.
But looking at the British aristocracy 35 years after this book was written their tenacious survival is what is most obvious, there are still hereditary peers in the House of Lords (though that may end soon) but what is most obvious is that while there is no doubt that the English aristocracy has fallen far from its 19th century height it has, compared to its continental confrères, done rather well not least in the cultural cachet they hold. How many people know, or care, that the Spanish king continues to grant titles of nobility including bestowing a hereditary title of Marquess to the tennis player Rafael Nadal? The UK monarch stopped creating hereditary titles back in the 1950s. But I don't think there is a 'Downton Abbey' equivalent in Spain and the mellow way the rapacious selfishness and class arrogance has been soft soaped into National Trust view of British aristocrats as 'national treasures' would have surprised their early 20th century enemies.
This a wonderful history and deserves to be read.
February 25, 2025
Some readers may find that significant data is tedious to comprehend. But Mr. Cannadine employs it to drive his argument home.
The decline of the landed aristocracy slowly began in the 1870's and continued on up through WW2 to this day. Even in British politics was the decline felt. The last aristocratic British Prime Minister was Douglas Home in 1963.
The decline of the landed aristocracy slowly began in the 1870's and continued on up through WW2 to this day. Even in British politics was the decline felt. The last aristocratic British Prime Minister was Douglas Home in 1963.
October 24, 2014
Honestly, I bought this book after watching Downton Abbey.! I thought I would learn more about aristocratic families, but it was a more of a historical account of their lives in general, not an account of particular families. This does not mean the book is not good, no. This book is about 800 pages, full of information, but some are repetitive. Still, one does not feel bored while reading it; maybe because I love history.!
The book in general is a detailed account of the change in the British social history. The author spends many years collecting the material of his book. I enjoyed reading the book, because it really provides me with insights regarding a lot of historical incidents which are new to me.
Bottom line: I recommend the book for anyone interested in the British history.
The book in general is a detailed account of the change in the British social history. The author spends many years collecting the material of his book. I enjoyed reading the book, because it really provides me with insights regarding a lot of historical incidents which are new to me.
Bottom line: I recommend the book for anyone interested in the British history.
April 19, 2007
I have recommended this several times to friends who I know normally don't read history or maybe, biography at best, and the reason I continue to do so is because for all the dry passages about the depression in land values and the long term effects of the industrial revolution, Cannadine has cleverly managed to slip in biographical vignettes along the way of a whole slew of eccentric British aristocrats that are simply irresistible.
November 24, 2014
Just great - pity it hasn't fully happened yet.
March 19, 2018
This is an intimidating tome with an intimidating title, but it's well worth the effort.
The length is a little.... excessive. Cannadine writes by presenting a fact (ie, land prices in Ireland began to fall over the course of a certain decade) and then presenting 20 or 30 pages of supporting evidence, citing a dozen different examples, giving us the price of every estate that went to auction in this decade, and talking about every old family remotely associated with the Irish land trade. One can get a little bogged down in the details- I'd be satisfied with just two or three examples of Irish gentry selling their estates, but oh well. Fortunately, Cannadine is an excellent writer, so there is always a sparkle of wit or a hilarious biographical vignette just when the sheer amount of detail is about to get overwhelming.
If the book has a flaw, it's that Cannadine seems to view the decline of fall of the British aristocracy as a bad thing. He does his best to stay objective, but there is definitely a whiff of tragedy when he presents stories of country acreages being sold, or earl's sons having to find a real profession. (I'm personally inclined to say good riddance to this feudalism, but oh well, that's a debate for another day.) However, even for those inclined to celebrate the downfall of the British aristocracy, Cannadine's thesis is bittersweet. One of the most important takeaways of the book, for me, is that when the British aristocracy lost its ancient lands, titles, and political clout, all of this wealth did *not* simply flow down to the people. Instead, Cannadine shows the British aristocracy being supplanted by a richer, vulgar nouveau riche, an Americanized plutocracy who claimed all the trappings of the aristocracy, but without the close connection to the land and the sense of duty and patriotism of the British gentry.
The length is a little.... excessive. Cannadine writes by presenting a fact (ie, land prices in Ireland began to fall over the course of a certain decade) and then presenting 20 or 30 pages of supporting evidence, citing a dozen different examples, giving us the price of every estate that went to auction in this decade, and talking about every old family remotely associated with the Irish land trade. One can get a little bogged down in the details- I'd be satisfied with just two or three examples of Irish gentry selling their estates, but oh well. Fortunately, Cannadine is an excellent writer, so there is always a sparkle of wit or a hilarious biographical vignette just when the sheer amount of detail is about to get overwhelming.
If the book has a flaw, it's that Cannadine seems to view the decline of fall of the British aristocracy as a bad thing. He does his best to stay objective, but there is definitely a whiff of tragedy when he presents stories of country acreages being sold, or earl's sons having to find a real profession. (I'm personally inclined to say good riddance to this feudalism, but oh well, that's a debate for another day.) However, even for those inclined to celebrate the downfall of the British aristocracy, Cannadine's thesis is bittersweet. One of the most important takeaways of the book, for me, is that when the British aristocracy lost its ancient lands, titles, and political clout, all of this wealth did *not* simply flow down to the people. Instead, Cannadine shows the British aristocracy being supplanted by a richer, vulgar nouveau riche, an Americanized plutocracy who claimed all the trappings of the aristocracy, but without the close connection to the land and the sense of duty and patriotism of the British gentry.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 19, 2016
A very detailed analysis of the decline in wealth, status and political power of the aristocracy in the United Kingdom in the century that began in the 1880s. Cannadine demostrates that the extension of suffrage, beginning with the Third Reform Act, began a process that undermined hereditary wealth and privilege. As a consequence of land reform and higher taxes, combined with a lengthy agricultural depression that began at roughly the same time, landlord rentals ceased to be adequate to support patrician lives of leisure. That combination began to force the landed aristocracy to sell off its holdings. To be sure, other factors also played roles: the two world wars, the rise of a new class of wealthy industrial entrepreneurs, and the opening of senior civil service and ministerial positions to middle class experts and professionals also contributed to the aristocracy's decline. Cannadine has examined the progression of these changes in all of their many ramifications on UK society. While the book is long, it does not lag: it is a story that keeps on unfolding, Given the many ways in which the decline affected society, it is not an exaggeration to say that the aristocracy's decline is intimately interwoven with British history of the same period: one story cannot be told without the other. An excellent and worthwhile study.
May 5, 2014
This is an amazing work of scholarship with an interesting argument but I sometimes felt battered by evidence. The book could have been 200 pages shorter (it is not 700 pages). I felt that Cannadine never used 2 examples if 10 could do. I had two other problems with the book. 1) Cannadine uses acronyms and refers to people and events that he has never introduced. An example is the Adullamite Revolt. Still don't know what it was since I couldn't look it up at the time. 2) the index is almost entirely peoples' proper names--almost no events or anything else. This made it even harder to decide if the things mentioned HAD been mentioned before or were thrown in without explanation. It is worth reading but be prepared to be frustrated with the endless examples.
February 17, 2014
A very thorough overview of the fate of the British aristocracy from 1870 to 1990's. There are many parallels to cultural shifts in the US today.
"At the outset of the 1870's, the British aristocracy could rightly consider themselves the most fortunate people on earth: they held the lion's share of land, wealth, and power in the world's greatest empire. By the end of the 1930's they had lost not only a generation of sons in the First World War, but also much of their prosperity, prestige and political significance."
A lesson in what happens when the leading members of a culture allow themselves to become weak and for others to take what was once theirs.
"At the outset of the 1870's, the British aristocracy could rightly consider themselves the most fortunate people on earth: they held the lion's share of land, wealth, and power in the world's greatest empire. By the end of the 1930's they had lost not only a generation of sons in the First World War, but also much of their prosperity, prestige and political significance."
A lesson in what happens when the leading members of a culture allow themselves to become weak and for others to take what was once theirs.
May 10, 2016
Well researched but drier than a raisin.
June 20, 2018
A massive, comprehensive, riveting schorlarly history. It was so well researched and just the topic I love.
August 30, 2025
So. Many. Words. The author has a penchant, a fondness, an absolute obsession with triplicate phrases. Three descriptives are used almost uniformly used: “Their position as unchallenged wealth was undermined, their unifying sense of territorial identity was dissolved, and their financial circumstances became increasingly divergent.” “..embattled, beleaguered, patrician remnants”…
So. Many. Names. The constant minutiae of the British families requires a familiarity and some what more than a passing interest (which this American lacks) as most of the great families of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales are described in both their glory and their almost universal fade into irrelevance, poverty, or obscurity. (Note, the constant reference to the wealth of the families as presented in pounds but not in contemporary equivalents is confusing, especially when the American Astor enters the narrative and we are given dollar values, again without any equivalent to contemporaneous or current pounds.)
It’s a sad story seeing how both the deliberate actions of government* and some of the sheer incompetence of these aristocratic families led to their demise. The author examines all of this through multiple lenses, which leads to some redundancy. Looking at the same families and governmental parties through several approaches means that one sees the same names again and again in slightly different contexts. One sees the privilege of inherited ranks replaced by the increasingly competent and educated “middle class”. Eventually but not entirely.
That said, a dry wit and occasionally downright snark elicited more than one snort of laughter. I think my favorite are the descriptions of the less than stellar people. “Lord C … as a youth lacked brains, looks, charm or prospects” … paragraphs on Kenya bring us “RdT…attractive, bibulous, and indiscreet… GC… small, awkward, chinless who was a miser and a hermit” … The E of E exiled to Kenya charming, good looking, promiscuous, cynical, and a bully.
It’s an excellent read to decompress, others may find it more compelling but I enjoyed diving in a few pages a night with no adrenal rush or worries.
*inheritance taxes seem incredibly punitive.
So. Many. Names. The constant minutiae of the British families requires a familiarity and some what more than a passing interest (which this American lacks) as most of the great families of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales are described in both their glory and their almost universal fade into irrelevance, poverty, or obscurity. (Note, the constant reference to the wealth of the families as presented in pounds but not in contemporary equivalents is confusing, especially when the American Astor enters the narrative and we are given dollar values, again without any equivalent to contemporaneous or current pounds.)
It’s a sad story seeing how both the deliberate actions of government* and some of the sheer incompetence of these aristocratic families led to their demise. The author examines all of this through multiple lenses, which leads to some redundancy. Looking at the same families and governmental parties through several approaches means that one sees the same names again and again in slightly different contexts. One sees the privilege of inherited ranks replaced by the increasingly competent and educated “middle class”. Eventually but not entirely.
That said, a dry wit and occasionally downright snark elicited more than one snort of laughter. I think my favorite are the descriptions of the less than stellar people. “Lord C … as a youth lacked brains, looks, charm or prospects” … paragraphs on Kenya bring us “RdT…attractive, bibulous, and indiscreet… GC… small, awkward, chinless who was a miser and a hermit” … The E of E exiled to Kenya charming, good looking, promiscuous, cynical, and a bully.
It’s an excellent read to decompress, others may find it more compelling but I enjoyed diving in a few pages a night with no adrenal rush or worries.
*inheritance taxes seem incredibly punitive.
February 11, 2021
This book provides a factually detailed account of the economic, political, and social decline of the traditional British landed aristocracy. Those facts are presented in a cogent manner, and I doubt anyone would take issue with Cannadine's research.
That being said, the book has several obvious shortcomings. First, it is overly long. Cannadine provides specific facts and figures on what seems like every landed family's members, income, property, political offices, and occupations from the 1870s through the end of WWII, with a brief foray into the more modern period as well. The point probably could have been made just as well in half the pages, or less.
Second, the author repeats some academic bromides over and over. He continually notes that "to be sure," the broad trends that are the subject of the book did not progress uniformly, that older patterns survived longer in some areas than others, and that some patrician families survived longer than others (including a select few that retained their status through the date the book was published). These qualifications are common in academic writing, and help to ensure that the author is not accused of overstating his case. However, the repetitious appearance of the same phrases, over and over, also can be annoying to the reader, and could be prevented through more felicitous writing.
Third, Cannadine does not pause to consider the deeper significance of some of the trends he outlines. For example, Cannidine points out that even prior to WWI, landed families increasingly were investing the non-landed portion of their wealth overseas to avoid high taxes. At the same time, British industry was declining relative to competitors in other countries, particularly Germany and the United States. Driving capital overseas was an unintentional but inevitable effect of British tax policy, and it raises the question of whether and to what extent the country would have been better off with a less aggressive tax policy, but Cannidine does not even consider this question. Perhaps he did not consider it to be within his subject, or perhaps he thought it was outside his expertise, but the result is the same: an important question is raised but not answered.
The British upper crust is an easy target for lampooning, but thankfully Cannadine does not take this easy way out. The only place in which Cannidine obviously ascribes the wrong motives to the traditional aristocracy comes in his discussion of WWI. Cannadine states that the aristocracy volunteered for the British armed forces in droves because they were dispirited by their losing social and economic struggle at home, and preferred to fight a battle they thought they could win. In actuality, the aristocratic ethos carried with it many obligations, one of which was that an aristocrat not shirk from fighting his country's battles. The deeply ingrained sense of honor nurtured by the British upper class was one of its most admirable characteristics, and the sons (and sometimes fathers) of the upper class who headed for the front lines simply were acting in accordance with their sense of honor. The result was a casualty rate far in excess of any other social group in the country.
On the whole, The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy is a worthwhile reading experience for the great mass of factual material it presents, but it falls a little short of the best histories.
That being said, the book has several obvious shortcomings. First, it is overly long. Cannadine provides specific facts and figures on what seems like every landed family's members, income, property, political offices, and occupations from the 1870s through the end of WWII, with a brief foray into the more modern period as well. The point probably could have been made just as well in half the pages, or less.
Second, the author repeats some academic bromides over and over. He continually notes that "to be sure," the broad trends that are the subject of the book did not progress uniformly, that older patterns survived longer in some areas than others, and that some patrician families survived longer than others (including a select few that retained their status through the date the book was published). These qualifications are common in academic writing, and help to ensure that the author is not accused of overstating his case. However, the repetitious appearance of the same phrases, over and over, also can be annoying to the reader, and could be prevented through more felicitous writing.
Third, Cannadine does not pause to consider the deeper significance of some of the trends he outlines. For example, Cannidine points out that even prior to WWI, landed families increasingly were investing the non-landed portion of their wealth overseas to avoid high taxes. At the same time, British industry was declining relative to competitors in other countries, particularly Germany and the United States. Driving capital overseas was an unintentional but inevitable effect of British tax policy, and it raises the question of whether and to what extent the country would have been better off with a less aggressive tax policy, but Cannidine does not even consider this question. Perhaps he did not consider it to be within his subject, or perhaps he thought it was outside his expertise, but the result is the same: an important question is raised but not answered.
The British upper crust is an easy target for lampooning, but thankfully Cannadine does not take this easy way out. The only place in which Cannidine obviously ascribes the wrong motives to the traditional aristocracy comes in his discussion of WWI. Cannadine states that the aristocracy volunteered for the British armed forces in droves because they were dispirited by their losing social and economic struggle at home, and preferred to fight a battle they thought they could win. In actuality, the aristocratic ethos carried with it many obligations, one of which was that an aristocrat not shirk from fighting his country's battles. The deeply ingrained sense of honor nurtured by the British upper class was one of its most admirable characteristics, and the sons (and sometimes fathers) of the upper class who headed for the front lines simply were acting in accordance with their sense of honor. The result was a casualty rate far in excess of any other social group in the country.
On the whole, The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy is a worthwhile reading experience for the great mass of factual material it presents, but it falls a little short of the best histories.
January 28, 2022
Cannadine clearly explains the political, social and economic reasons for the decline of the British aristocracy. Improved methods of transportation meant the large scale importation of foodstuffs from North America, Australia and Argentina into Britain, resulting in a long lasting agricultural depression. Declining farm income resulted in declining rental income for the land based upper class. The Third Reform Act in 1884-5 produced a large increase in the number of voters, voters who could not be controlled by the lords of the shire. The landed elite was also being challenged by the possessors of non-landed fortunes. Capitalists from finance, industry, media and retailing were richer than the proprietors of estates.
Increased suffrage meant a more “populist” politics. The unearned income of the landlord became increasingly the target, especially in Ireland, of new political movements. The old aristocratic ethos of the cultured amateur, both in local and national politics, fell before the advance of professionalization. Perhaps it’s just that the relatively small numbers of people who were upper class were simply overwhelmed by the far larger numbers of ambitious middle class applicants produced by the new educational opportunities.
All of this is not new, but Cannadine presents it well. Where the book really shines is in the anecdotes the author uses to illustrate his thesis. Cannadine is truly a master of the apt detail.
Increased suffrage meant a more “populist” politics. The unearned income of the landlord became increasingly the target, especially in Ireland, of new political movements. The old aristocratic ethos of the cultured amateur, both in local and national politics, fell before the advance of professionalization. Perhaps it’s just that the relatively small numbers of people who were upper class were simply overwhelmed by the far larger numbers of ambitious middle class applicants produced by the new educational opportunities.
All of this is not new, but Cannadine presents it well. Where the book really shines is in the anecdotes the author uses to illustrate his thesis. Cannadine is truly a master of the apt detail.
Read
August 11, 2022Liked this a lot, but it could have been edited down haaaarrrrd. A couple summary statistics could have done the work of countless successive paragraphs of examples of aristocrats engaging or not engaging in a particular enterprise. And there's a familiar push/pull to so many of Cannadine's conclusions: Sure the landed aristocracy clung to power and influence well into the 20th century, but of course in a relative sense their power was only a shadow of what it was circa 1880.
And on one more critical note: The actual analysis of causation could have been a lot sharper. Beyond the relative decline in the price of land, Cannadine offers little to explain the aristocracy's decline. Of course given a sufficiently long enough period of time, and a strong enough political culture, it's possible that a ruling class would relinquish wealth and power in a relatively peaceful manner, but given my priors I find it unlikely. Cannadine should have given more space to this higher level analysis. One of the great merits of this book for me was that it complicated my understanding of how stable Britain was socially and economically. What happened to the British aristocracy in Ireland certainly seems like a minor revolution! Wish Cannadine hadn't saved the causal analysis, and the comparative history, for the final few pages.
Otherwise, this books is filled with interesting people, fascinating stories, and a wonderful blend of social and political history.
And on one more critical note: The actual analysis of causation could have been a lot sharper. Beyond the relative decline in the price of land, Cannadine offers little to explain the aristocracy's decline. Of course given a sufficiently long enough period of time, and a strong enough political culture, it's possible that a ruling class would relinquish wealth and power in a relatively peaceful manner, but given my priors I find it unlikely. Cannadine should have given more space to this higher level analysis. One of the great merits of this book for me was that it complicated my understanding of how stable Britain was socially and economically. What happened to the British aristocracy in Ireland certainly seems like a minor revolution! Wish Cannadine hadn't saved the causal analysis, and the comparative history, for the final few pages.
Otherwise, this books is filled with interesting people, fascinating stories, and a wonderful blend of social and political history.
December 4, 2022
Long winded but informative account on how a combination of social changes contributed to a gradual decline of the aristocracy from 1880 on. They lost wealth when had to sell land because could not meet income taxes and the revenues coming from agriculture declined. They lost power when there was a democratization of the House of Lords and less titles were bestowed.
They lost prestige when the middle class took over many of the previous purviews of the aristocracy such as foreign affairs and civil service. The plutocrats from America made money the key factor for getting into society.
The points could have been made in about 400 pages instead of 700.
They lost prestige when the middle class took over many of the previous purviews of the aristocracy such as foreign affairs and civil service. The plutocrats from America made money the key factor for getting into society.
The points could have been made in about 400 pages instead of 700.
March 19, 2016
This is such a brilliantly informative book that I only wish I'd read it sooner; it would have really helped put in context a lot of things I've read in other books about declining aristocratic families. Whether you feel a longing nostalgia for the days of "Downton Abbey" or think the whole idea of aristocracy is stupid, it's vital to know that the decline of the noble families' wealth and importance was an absolute sea change for British society.
Some of my friends are concerned about the length of this book. It's worth reading every word, but here's a tip: if you just read the one-to-two-page "conclusion" of every chapter, you'll get at least the high points of what's discussed.
Some of my friends are concerned about the length of this book. It's worth reading every word, but here's a tip: if you just read the one-to-two-page "conclusion" of every chapter, you'll get at least the high points of what's discussed.
August 25, 2016
To be totally clear: I only read this book as research for the novel I'm drafting right now and I read up to about 600 pages and then stopped b/c WWII is irrelevant to this project. I would not have chosen to read this book, were it not for the research possibilities. I picked up some good tidbits and avenues and sources to explore for the story--so that's great.
But yeah--super dense. Written very list-y: like, lists of aristocratic titles abounded. I won't evaluate its politics or its point of view here, but parts of it were useful enough for my understanding of my characters and their world. This isn't the kind of book you read "just because" and it could've been much shorter.
But yeah--super dense. Written very list-y: like, lists of aristocratic titles abounded. I won't evaluate its politics or its point of view here, but parts of it were useful enough for my understanding of my characters and their world. This isn't the kind of book you read "just because" and it could've been much shorter.
April 24, 2015
Fascinating and comprehensive analysis of the earth-shaking changes in British society during the Late Victorian and subsequent eras. Has given me significant insights into the psyche of this nation that explain so much. Thoroughly enjoyed it overall, despite the odd turgid stretch requiring teeth-gritted determination to get through. Many parts were riveting; I found it hard to put down, which is really saying something for a history book!
August 6, 2018
I’m confused by all the glowing reviews. Sparkling wit? Where? Cannadine will spend four pages listing every single landowner and the exact acreage he sold and for how much, but then just mention offhandedly that it was the Act of 1921 that probably caused this sell-off—and then not explain the act! Truly a puzzling construction.
May 20, 2010
Rather brilliantly researched, with some wittily astringent passages about the foibles and follies of the British and Anglo-Irish aristocracies of the late 19th and 20th centuries. Somewhat over-long and repetitive, however.
January 11, 2014
This book is hard to read. The print is small and everything about the physical quality is off-outing. It reads like an encyclopedia. However, it tells how the Brits avoided the violent demise of the European aristocracy during he two world wars.
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September 28, 2015A massive (800 pages) look at everything to do with the downfall of the British aristocracy at the end of the 19th century.
October 16, 2017
Finally finished this monster, 709 pages of dense social history.
An impressive book, brilliantly organized and written.
An impressive book, brilliantly organized and written.
February 1, 2020
The House at Tyneford
August 6, 2022
An epic and masterly time with so much detail, no wonder it took 10 years to research and write!
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