Hope and Glory: Britain 1900-1990

Penguin History of Britain #9

by P.F. Clarke

At the close of the twentieth century, shaken by two world wars, the erosion of empire, and the decline of the gold standard, Britain's place in the world is constantly debated and redefined. Hope and Glory traces not only the milestones of the nation's twentieth-century decline but also the subtler threads of a cultural and social history: the end of the Victorian boom and the first social reforms; the postwar welfare state; and the consumer culture of the late fifties and sixties, whose response to the electoral slogan "You've never had it so good" led to the eighties economy and its bleak underside. In this broad yet incisive perspective, portraits of giants such as David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, and Margaret Thatcher mingle with sketches of ordinary Britons who lived through three generations of unprecedented change.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, British Literature, European History, 20th Century, Politics, World History

464 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1996

About the author

Dr. Peter Frederick Clarke was Professor of Modern British History from 1991 to 2004 at Cambridge University and Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, from 2000 to 2004. He completed his BA in 1963, his MA and PhD in 1967, and his LittD in 1989 all at Cambridge University. A Fellow of the British Academy, he reviews books regularly for The Times Literary Supplement, the London Review of Books and the Sunday Times.

Reviews

[Leonids · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly decent survey book of history 1900-90. I picked it up in my school library and no one had read it for over ten years, though, which probably tells you something about it immediately; it's not particularly accessible.

The book is split into loose periods that initially seemed to be based on Prime Minister but later spanned seemingly irregular periods of time with very little to show why the chapter spanned those years. Within that it was split into slightly shorter sections that tended to deal with a particular theme. The surveys covered political, economic, and social history, with far more focus on the former two with the latter largely being a list of names of authors who I had largely never heard of.

The book largely focused on a history of influential political figures and their economic policies as they attempted to manipulate a body of voters treated as just that - a body, with very little attempt at actually explaining why people voted certain ways in certain years. Economic policy was explained almost entirely using terms the author neglected to fully explain and he often referenced earlier events in the book I had admittedly forgotten, largely because the survey didn't involve actually explaining what many viewpoints/terms were. His view of economic history was also largely dominated by trying to sum up policies as to whether it was supported by Keynes or not which, while I'm no expert, doesn't seem like a particularly effective approach to me.

Overall, though, the book is a fairly interesting introduction to British history if you already know a little bit about what was going on. It addresses a very wide variety of issues and events with a fair amount of skill and a whole lot of conciseness. I just wish the author could have broadened his view of what Britain was - for a nation made up of four countries that is an empire for at least half of the addressed period, he spent very little time actually talking about anywhere other than England.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted a one-volume intro to 20th century British history. This was pretty good. My main complaints:
- The author sometimes assumes the readers know a lot more than they might actually know. This is particularly bad early in the book, where the author refers casually to names and events from the 1800s, relying upon the reader to know what he's talking about and what the conventional wisdom says about it. I suppose this is sort of fair for a book that's not about the 1800s. But it shows up elsewhere too, where he may be referring to things that happened during the 20th century that he doesn't explain. Maybe people who grew up in Britain can keep up better. That said, Wikipedia filled in most of the gaps for me.

- The coverage of Ireland/Northern Ireland is really thin. This was actually a big part of why I wanted to read up on 20th century Britain - to get some background on the Northern Ireland issues. He briefly mentions related issues circa 1920 when Ireland got its independence, then he mentions it again during the early 1970s, and very briefly around the Good Friday agreement. But it felt like he just really didn't want to talk about it.

Good book though.

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read about six chapters of this for a history course, before giving up. The style is tedious, and it seems to have been written mainly for a British audience.

[Jack Caulfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid read that doesn't reach the heights of most of the previous volumes. Clarke writes well and engagingly, with a penchant for pithy turns of phrase that is generally enjoyable (and he relishes the opportunity to throw in a 'subfusc' or a 'tergiversation' every now and then). The structure is similar enough to other entries in the series, with chapters focused on clearly defined periods divided into thematic subchapters that add up to a complete picture of the relevant period. This is done reasonably well, although it is accomplished less coherently than in the previous volume.

What drags the book down a bit, for me, is just the typical historian's folly of assuming too much prior knowledge from the reader, specifically on the topics of international diplomacy and economic theory. It's probably reasonable not to go much into the causes of World War Two, which are pretty common knowledge; it's less reasonable to give virtually no indication of what kicked off World War One; and pretty optimistic to expect me to get much out of page after page of economic jargon (something-something bank-rate, something-something balance of payments, something-something monetarism). Clarke makes desultory attempts to explain the competing economic theories at issue in the period's political contests, but they were inadequate for me; I still got bogged down in this stuff and came away with a blurrier picture than I'd hoped. Still, it does the job. The timeline of governments and elections in the back is a great tool for keeping track of who exactly was in power when, too.

[Mohammed omran · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author seeks to answer the question of whether or not Britain can be said to have declined in the twentieth century. His answer seems to be that it depends what you mean by decline, and that anyway he thinks some of the decisions that may have contributed to a decline in some sense were justifiable. Britain declined in the sense that at the end of the twentieth century it was no longer Top Nation; its relative political and economic significance were less than it was at the start of the twentieth century. This relative decline was most marked in a political sense, as the United States already had a larger economy (equal roughly to the sum of the gross domestic products of Britain, France and Germany) at the start of the twentieth century. However, individual Britons lived much longer, were much less likely to watch their kids die, and were much wealthier at the end of the twentieth century than at its start. Deciding to continue the war against Germany after the fall of France meant selling off Britain's overseas assets, distorting the economy to focus on weapons production, required a dependence on the United States for finance, and made the loss of the empire inevitable. But coexistence with Hitler hardly seems a probable long-term possibility, and the dependence on the United States was less disasterous than subservience to Hitler.

[Chloe · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book spend its time name dropping with no explanation. It is long af, the police is super small, the lexique at the end is just percentage and you need to make so many researches to understand what is said. At least it wasn't that expensive for a textbook at about 10€.

[Graeme · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very useful and thorough reference. Clarke provides an independent, well-reasoned account, without mindless regurgitation of the popular narrative and propaganda.

[Peter Howrth · Rating 3 out of 5]

More enthralled by the first half of the century than the second.

[violetderey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. Not for me.

[Andres Cordoba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite review of post-war politics, but somewhat accessible and helpful in a bide.

[Peter Crouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Advanced degree in Economics required!

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a drag to read but I read it and I’m glad I read it.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good solid history of twentieth century Britain. Primarily centred on economic history, with political history taking a secondary focus. Clark's book would have been well served by an early chapter that gave an introduction to the economic topics that recur throughout his book. I was pleasantly surprised by the sections on culture, which I found very enjoyable. Also, keep your eyes open for Clark's subtle wit; lots of amusing, and to the point, observations are to be found!

[Schmidleysscribblins.wordpress.com · Rating 3 out of 5]

Postive book.

[Jen Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my go-to text for twentieth-century political and economic British history

[Anne H. Bakke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for a class on British politics in the 20th century, and it did give me a sense of the bigger picture but, somehow, failed to offer a thorough overview of politics..

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just lovely! Comprehensive, extremely well written, balanced and Clarke pays attention to every single aspect of society. Looks like the ultimate history of 20th century Britain!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so helpful and informative for my history exam

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had an old copy so mine is 1900 to 1990. It took me about 3 years to get through as well! Lots of political detail that provides interest but unfortunately I don't retain it so I could start reading it again! Bit like painting the Forth Bridge!