The pleasures of the past

This is a collection of papers and reviews which range across political, economic, social, urban and cultural history. All of them are in some way concerned with the history of modern Britain and with the state of modern British history. The topics cover a variety of themes ranging from the cult of the national heritage and of the country house and the increasingly critical attitude of writers on the monarchy, to the decay of Victorian cities and problems of urban blight, post-war Conservative governments and the diversities and doubts which characterize the historical scene. The author admits that behind all this there lies the pervasive climate of opinion current in Thatcher's England and Reagan's America which has influenced both the type and the content of British History produced during the present decade. The current collection though, is intended to convey something of the relevance and the interest, the excitement and the breadth, the pleasure and the fun which characterise history in general, and modern British history in particular.