A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People? England 1783 - 1846

New Oxford History of England #12

by Boyd Hilton

This was a transformative period in English history. In 1783 the country was at one of the lowest points in its fortunes, having just lost its American colonies in warfare. By 1846 it was once more a great imperial nation, as well as the world's strongest power and dominant economy, having benefited from what has sometimes (if misleadingly) been called the 'first industrial revolution'. In the meantime it survived a decade of invasion fears, and emerged victorious from more than twenty years of 'war to the death' against Napoleonic France. But if Britain's external fortunes were in the ascendant, the situation at home remained fraught with peril. The country's population was growing at a rate not experienced by any comparable former society, and its manufacturing towns especially were mushrooming into filthy, disease-ridden, gin-sodden hell-holes, in turn provoking the phantasmagoria of a mad, bad, and dangerous people. It is no wonder that these years should have experienced the most prolonged period of social unrest since the seventeenth century, or that the elite should have been in constant fear of a French-style revolution in England.

The governing classes responded to these new challenges and by the mid-nineteenth century the seeds of a settled two-party system and of a more socially interventionist state were both in evidence, though it would have been far too soon to say at that stage whether those seeds would take permanent root. Another consequence of these tensions was the intellectual engagement with society, as for example in the Romantic Movement, a literary phenomenon that brought English culture to the forefront of European attention for the first time. At the same time the country experienced the great religious revival, loosely described under the heading 'evangelicalism'. Slowly but surely, the raffish and rakish style of eighteenth-century society, having reached a peak in the Regency, then succumbed to the new norms of respectability popularly known as 'Victorianism'.

Genres: History, 19th Century, European History, British Literature, Nonfiction, 18th Century, Politics

784 pages, Hardcover

First published February 16, 2006

About the author

A specialist in modern British history, Andrew John Boyd Hilton, FBA is a professor and fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Hilton was educated at William Hulme's Grammar School, Manchester, and New College, Oxford, where he obtained a first class honours degree in Modern History. From 1969 to 1974 he was a research lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford. He was elected a fellow of Trinity College in 1974.[

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

All too many surveys of history start with soaring language that stresses how the period being examined was one of great change. Refreshingly, Boyd Hilton's contribution to the New Oxford History of England series does not do this, focusing instead on the continuities of English history from the late eighteenth to the mid nineteenth century. While acknowledging the dramatic demographic growth of this period and the economic transformations it spawned, he argues that the political revolutions of the late eighteenth century fueled an embrace of neo-conservative ideologies that proved remarkably enduring throughout the period.

Hilton's argument shapes not just his interpretation of English history during this period, but his presentation of it as well. Arguing for a "politicization of society" during this period, he provides more political narrative than previous authors in the series have for their volumes. These chapters provide an insightful analysis of the period, particularly with regards to the political ideologies of the period. He supplements this with a superb bibliography at the end, one that offers a stimulating analysis of the historiography on the period.

Yet judged by the standard of the series, the book is something of a disappointment. The predominance of the political narratives crowds out other aspects of the era, most notably the dramatic technological changes so critical to it; these are usually addressed only in their consequences, and incompletely even then. A more persistent problem, however, is the author's presentation of historical arguments in the text. Often Hilton presents the varying interpretations of a topic or a personage with little sense as to his own opinion on the issue. While some may value the opportunity to make their own assessments, Hilton's effort at even-handedness deprives the reader of the sort of informed judgments that have made the series such a valuable tool for understanding English history.

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this almost-comprehensive account of English politics and society between the French Revolution and the repeal of the Corn Laws, Boyd Hilton sketches out (in some detail) the history of the nation through some of its most turbulent years. In some ways this is a traditional old-school history that we might come to expect from Oxford - it is mostly top down, high politics, with comparatively little to say about the modern concerns of identity, gender and race. On the other hand, Hilton does engage in a little bit of revisionism, or at least steering us away from the traditional stories.

Few heroes emerge from the book. Pitt, the Pilot who Weathered the Storm, is portrayed as a poor war leader and politician; Grey, the Great Reformer, is a reluctant dilettante whose interests are shallow; Peel, rather than creating the modern Conservative party and inaugurating the period of free trade, simply pulled down the edifice of political life, and was himself ambitious and unpleasant.

Coming to the fore in the narrative, is William Huskisson the economist politician most famous for being the first casualty on the new railways and who may have made a better prime minister had he lived (and his personality been not quite so difficult).

Religion plays a huge part in this story, possibly because it is Boyd Hilton's particular area of expertise. It is helpful to remember how dominant religious attitudes were in this period, after the religiously quiet Eighteenth Century. He has some very interesting comments on evangelicalism and politics.

Missing in the volume is much of the cultural side of the period. The Romantics get some mention but Turner is only referenced once and the Brontes not at all. This is a history in which religion and economics are the drivers, but their cultural expression and influence is only a small part of the background.

[Bookthesp1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A general reader might have been forgiven for thinking that this book was written by the editor of Heat magazine. They might find it hard to locate the 21st century celebrity gossip because this is part of the prestigious New Oxford History of England series by another Boyd Hilton. This is excellent academic History with more than a large pinch of style thrown in and some tricky sections that have to be read more than once to ensure understanding (or not as the case may be). I did find the sections on economics and religion a tough read and they were close to defeating me at times but there is so much brilliant detail and much intellectual grist to the mill.
The style is best reflected in excellent pen portraits- Pitt as a sexual political machine with no inner life; Canning and Huskisson as young Turks and Nelson getting short shrift from Hilton. Granted this book is not as racy as Roy Porters Penguin History of the eighteenth century and is not afraid to layer the narrative with a frightening level of detail. Overall excellent stuff with a bibliography to die for and within which there are piquant comments about previous writers- JCD Clark and his groundbreaking work- mentioned because his work has been so influential as to making a Hanoverian Historian joke- BC is now referred to as "Before Clark". The title of the book is framed as a question and in this thorough stylish piece of History Hilton goes to town attempting an answer. Warning-probably not for a beginner though.

[Tdr85 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Certainly an eye-opener for someone who only has a smattering of knowledge of this era. It's a great read but assumes some knowledge of the time. I have read a few books of military history on the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars and also the French Revolution itself but knew little of the English experience. It is very good on politics and religion but less so on the Industrial revolution. The author is a first rate writer. He gives a plausible explanation of why revolution was avoided.

[Joey Mopsink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely no shade to Boyd Hilton but I had to present on this book for a graduate class and it frustrated me to tears lmao

[Lauren Gilbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is full of information. The author presents multiple interpretations of certain
events or actions. Interesting, but not one I'll revisit.