Nineteenth-Century Britain: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #023

by Christopher Harvie, H.C.G. Matthew

The nineteenth century was a time of massive growth for Britain. In 1800 it was overwhelmingly rural, agrarian, multilingual, and almost half-Celtic. A century later it was largely urban and English. The effects of the Industrial Revolution caused cities to swell enormously. London, for example, grew from about 1 million people to over 6 million. Abroad, the British Empire was reaching its apex, while at home the world came to marvel at the Great Exhibition of 1851 with its crowning achievement--the Crystal Palace. Historians Christopher Harvie and Colin Matthew present a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the social, economic, and political events that marked the era on which many believed the sun would never set.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, British Literature, Victorian, 19th Century, Modern, Research

171 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 2000

About the author

Professor Christopher Harvie is a Scottish historian and author. He was Professor of British and Irish Studies at the University of Tübingen, Germany and a Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Mid Scotland and Fife from 2007 to 2011.

Harvie grew up in the Borders village of St. Boswells and was educated at Kelso High School and the Royal High School in Edinburgh. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated in 1966 with a First Class Honours M.A. in History. He received his PhD from Edinburgh in 1972 for a thesis on university liberalism and democracy, 1860-1886.

As a historian, Harvie was the Shaw-Macfie Lang Fellow and a tutor at Edinburgh University from 1966 to 1969. He joined the Open University in 1969 as a history lecturer, and from 1978 he was a senior lecturer in history.

His publications include Scotland and Nationalism (1977, revised 1994), Fool’s Gold: the Story of North Sea Oil (1994), Broonland: the Last Days of Gordon Brown (2010), and Scotland the Brief: a Short History of a Nation (2010).

Reviews

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I still love the series, but I wasn't as big of a fan of this one. It's likely because I already knew quite a bit about this era in Britain. It was mostly a rehash of what I already knew with very little new information. However, I did find a few books in the bibliography that I hadn't had on my list of books to read yet so it wasn't a total loss. Hopefully, my library will get some more of this series in soon, I have requested a few, so I can continue reading more of these books. I haven't decided if it's worth buying the series or just the ones I really enjoyed. I do recommend the series if there is a specific subject you are interested in and just want some generic information about it.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is truly an awful history book. It is by far the worst “Short Introduction” book I have read in the series. The writing really is all over the place with frequent distracting and confusing comments and asides. I think that it may be composed of sections taken from an earlier much larger book. I can only assume that had I had lived in Britain and studied its history for years I might have gotten all of its references. But then I would hardly need to read an introduction at that point would I.

[Cee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

This Very Short Introduction focusses on the political history of Britain, and even then, does it pretty badly. Rather than providing a concise overview of the political climate, the writers too often resort to redundant detail and distracting asides. For someone interested in the cultural history, this book was basically useless. It also manages to almost completely gloss over the consequences of colonialism, while the subsection called "Women" contains just one page of text.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will, in very sweeping terms, let you know what you don't know about 19th century Britain. You then must go away and find some huge history book that will actually explain to you all the things that are mentioned in this book. Knowing what you don't know is better than not knowing what you don't know, so there's that to be said for this short—but not basic—work.

[Fran]

It's a decent overview but its brevity means it is bereft of explanation in some places...it almost functions better as a crash-course review before an exam than as scaffolding for a background in the 19th century.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historian Christopher Harvie and the late Historian Colin Matthews published 19th Century Britain: A Very Short Introduction in 2000. The book has illustrations, including maps. The book has a timeline and an index. The book has a timeline of British Prime Ministers from 1789 to 1914 (Harvie & Matthews 159-160). The book has a section entitled “further reading” (Harvie & Matthews 147-152). The book starts in the immediate aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars until right before World War I (Harvie & Matthews 143-146). The first chapter is on the Industrial Revolution (Harvie & Matthews 9-17). The Oxford Languages writes the Industrial Revolution was “the rapid development of industry that occurred in Britain in the late 18th and 19th centuries, brought about by the introduction of machinery. It was characterized by the use of steam power, the growth of factories, and the mass production of manufactured goods” (Allen 31, 39, 44, & 57). The Industrial Revolution was a significant factor in shaping 19th-century Britain (Harvie & Matthew 1). The Industrial Revolution lasted between the late 18th Century and 1870 in Great Britain (Allen 39-42, 57-59). The book covers a lot of ground, including the British Colonization of Africa and Asia in the 19th Century (Harvie & Matthews 118-124). The book covers a lot of other topics as well. The short book covers social history, political history, demographic history, legal history, and other ways of viewing the history of the 19th Century in Great Britain. The book agrees with the British Historian Arnold Troybee, who wrote in 1881 that the Industrial Revolution was a “distinct” era in British History (Harvie & Matthews 1). The book entitled 19th Century Britain: A Very Short Introduction is a well-done introduction to this era.
Works Cited:
Allen, Robert C. 2017. The Industrial Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press. Kindle.

[M. Ashraf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not really a VSI history book on the 19th century Britain it is more of a commentary on the period.
Unlike previous periods there are lots of specific political situations and laws that shaped the whole thing. but with no further details nor context. The monarchy had limited appearance in it and everything was left to the house and government.
The talks about The Industrial Revolution and the economical situation was good.
It is an O.K book but it is very short and need further readings like most books in the series.

[Filipa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really nice overview of the nineteenth-century in Britain. College readings can be fun (!!) and this collection of very short introductions by Oxford is such a awesome idea/concept. I have taken a look at the list of books in the collection and there are a lot more I want to buy with some interesting themes.

[Yuhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

what the fuck. 'orrible.

[Anna Janes · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not sure what an expert of British history, politics and economy of the 19th Century, but it is a very poor introduction.
It presumes pretty detailed previous knowledge of not only what 'went before' but of what is being described. Frequently breezing over a subject with a broad stroke, or dismissing contrary interpretations without providing much basis to do so.
The subject deserves a proper introduction, but this can only be provided by someone willing to critically deal with the subject from a distance, not treat the writing as an exercise in defence the British Empire as a model for society.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting short introduction of nineteenth century Britain that was on my shelf for a while and I finally completed my reading today. It gives you enough information to start to understand the British empire. There are also a chronology of key dates of events happening in the world, the name of British prime ministers from 1789-1914 and some ideas of further reading.
I recommend to those who will want to know more .

[Caroline McGlone · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very bad short introduction. This book was confusing and hard to read. It’s clearly originally written for an audience of other English history scholars and even though I’ve read a ton of History JAs etc in my life this one kinda takes the cake for overcomplicating what you want to say. I don’t think I’ve taken anything away from this. Couldn’t give you 1 singular fact about 19th century Britain. Waste of time.

[Chrissy Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Small but densely packed with an overwhelming amount of detail, which does make sense as the book does cover an entire century. It could have benefited from a better editing, though. It did provide me with a better general knowledge of living standards and legislature and a grasp of just how little I actually know. Was useful in suggesting books and essays that I will seek out going forward.

[JD Shaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pretty good little book, lots of details and woven together in a comprehensible way. However, it would have been very nice to have a word at the beginning about how it was laid out and organized... I was quite confused for awhile.

[Noumaan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remarkably conscientious account of British political economy, society, and domestic and imperial politics in the nineteenth century, especially for a history produced in the classical tradition. Could, however, have covered more on counts of cultural history, gender, and popular movements.

[Ivan Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succinct enough without any difficulty for a layman.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Same formulaic way of looking at the nineteenth century.

[Hattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

live love laugh very short introductions

[Michael Meeuwis · Rating 4 out of 5]

For what I needed it to be--a guide to nineteenth-century Britain I could teach in one week, as part of a literature course--this was ideal. It's not good at what it isn't, a more in-depth account of anything. But this is an effective framework for other, more local discussions. Does what it says on the tin.

[Steve Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good introduction into this period of British history. There are better books out there that specialise in the many aspects of 19th century Britain; but reading this first will help you see the bigger picture.

[Daniel Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember any particular details about the books that together make the VSI history of Britain series, but the series as a whole I can thoroughly recommend for a brief and insightful overview.

[Patrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the thorough research behind this book. Although it's intended for general public, it's not superficial. I'd give it 5 stars if there was a bit more information about society and people as such (everyday life, workers' life, life in towns and cities, etc.).

[Vikas Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incisive account of the trends - economic, social and political - and changes that propelled the British and their empire to the greatest seen in this century of marvels.

[Andy Emery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent concise introduction to the ("long") 19th century. Many themes explored for such a small book.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good all-around intro (or a refresher). No muss no fuss.