The Strange Death of Liberal England
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''The Strange Death of Liberal England'' is a book written by
George Dangerfield George Bubb Dangerfield (28 October 1904 in Newbury, Berkshire – 27 December 1986 in Santa Barbara, California) was a British-born American journalist, historian, and the literary editor of '' Vanity Fair'' from 1933 to 1935. He is known prima ...
and published in 1935. Its thesis is that the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
ruined itself in dealing with the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
,
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
, the
Irish question The Irish question was the issue debated primarily among the British government from the early 19th century until the 1920s of how to respond to Irish nationalism and the calls for Irish independence. The phrase came to prominence as a result ...
, and
trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...
, during the period 1906–1914. In recent decades most scholars have rejected the main interpretations of events presented in the book. However, the "book has been extraordinarily influential. Scarcely any important analyst of modern Britain has failed to cite it and to make use of the understanding which Dangerfield provides." In 1999 the book was named by the U.S. publisher
Modern Library The Modern Library is an American book publishing imprint and formerly the parent company of Random House. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, Modern Library became an ...
as one of the "100 Best Nonfiction Books" published in the 20th century.


Summary


Thesis

Dangerfield argues that four great rebellions before the
Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
effectively destroyed the Liberal Party as a party of government. These rebellions were: * the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
's fight against the
Parliament Act 1911 The Parliament Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5 c. 13) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is constitutionally important and partly governs the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two Houses of Parlia ...
; * the threat of civil war in Ireland by the Ulster Unionists under Sir
Edward Carson Edward Henry Carson, 1st Baron Carson, PC, PC (Ire) (9 February 1854 – 22 October 1935), from 1900 to 1921 known as Sir Edward Carson, was an Irish unionist politician, barrister and judge, who served as the Attorney General and Solicito ...
with the encouragement of the leader of the Conservative Party,
Bonar Law Andrew Bonar Law ( ; 16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923) was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now a ...
; * the
suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
movement led by the Pankhursts; * the increasingly militant
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
s under the influence of
syndicalism Syndicalism is a Revolutionary politics, revolutionary current within the Left-wing politics, left-wing of the Labour movement, labor movement that seeks to unionize workers Industrial unionism, according to industry and advance their demands t ...
.


On the suffragettes

Dangerfield wrote of the suffragettes that "what they did had to be done", but he offered a highly gendered and dismissive analysis, accusing them of "asserting their masculinity", "disorder, arrogance, and outrage", and "pre-war lesbianism". They were "odious to men" and women too, "melodramatic" and "hysterical". He described
Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...
as a "fragile little woman, not more distinguished in her appearance than other pretty little women who have worn well". Suffragette actions were portrayed as "the swish of long skirts, the violent assault of feathered hats, the impenetrable, advancing phalanx of corseted bosoms".


Publishing history

The New York book publishers Harrison Smith and Robert Haas first published the book, but it soon went out of print due to the publisher's bankruptcy. An abridged version was published in Britain in 1936 by
Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
. Because the book was viewed as "popular history" and covered a relatively recent period it largely escaped being reviewed in major historical journals. Capricorn Books, an American publisher, put out a paperback in 1961 that stayed in print for most of the 1960s. This edition added "1910–1914" to the original title. In 1997 it was republished by
Serif In typography, a serif () is a small line or stroke regularly attached to the end of a larger stroke in a letter or symbol within a particular font or family of fonts. A typeface or "font family" making use of serifs is called a serif typeface ...
and
Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...
, with a foreword by
Peter Stansky Peter David Lyman Stansky (born January 18, 1932) is an American historian specializing in modern British history. Works *''Ambitions and Strategies: The Struggle for the Leadership of the Liberal Party in the 1890s'' (1964) *''England Since 186 ...
.


Influence and evaluation

Kenneth O. Morgan Kenneth Owen Morgan, Baron Morgan, (born 16 May 1934) is a Welsh historian and author, known especially for his writings on modern British history and politics and on Welsh history. He is a regular reviewer and broadcaster on radio and televisi ...
in ''The Age of Lloyd George: The Liberal Party and British Politics, 1890–1929'' (1971) called it "brilliantly written but basically misleading", and stated that its influence on later writers was "totally disproportionate". Carolyn W. White has argued that :after languishing for three decades, tbecame the single most controversial book on prewar England, the linchpin of a major and continuing historiographical debate. All efforts by professional historians to vanquish what Peter Clarke has described as a "brilliant impressionistic book" have failed. Indeed there is scarcely a book or article on the prewar period that does not mention Dangerfield's book, or attempt to sustain or refute its findings- "a sure sign of its importance," notes John Grigg. The British studies journal ''
Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...
'' focused on the book and its author in Winter 1985 (Vol. 17, No. 4). In 1998 the book was chosen as number eighty-two in the Modern Library's list of the 100 Best Nonfiction Books published in the 20th century. Chris Cook, in ''A Short History of the Liberal Party 1900–1997'' (1998), concluded that the book "can be safely left alone. It is a highly impressionistic account and at times highly misleading". From the left,
Eric Hobsbawm Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. A life-long Marxist, his socio-political convictions influenced the character of his work. H ...
asserted that it was "wrong on most details, but still the most exciting way to start looking at the nation's history during this period". The book does not take a Marxist perspective, but Paul Foot wrote in the ''
Socialist Review The ''Socialist Review'' is a monthly magazine of the British Socialist Workers Party. As well as being printed it is also published online. Original publication: 1950–1962 The ''Socialist Review'' was set up in 1950 as the main publication o ...
'' in 1987 that anyone who had not read it "should instantly treat themselves". He argued that "Even after 61 years ... George Dangerfield’s book is supreme. Every page, indeed every sentence, is lifted above the average by his irresistible writing style. The hallmark of this style is that most dangerous of all the weapons in the challenger’s armoury: mockery. The whole book is a mockery of the pretensions of the rulers of the time, most notably the mandarins of Asquith’s Liberal government". From the right, in a speech to the London Academy of Excellence, the Conservative Cabinet minister
Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...
mentioned it as one of his favourite history books.
Peter Stansky Peter David Lyman Stansky (born January 18, 1932) is an American historian specializing in modern British history. Works *''Ambitions and Strategies: The Struggle for the Leadership of the Liberal Party in the 1890s'' (1964) *''England Since 186 ...
in 1985 evaluated the book after 50 years: :''The Strange Death'' continues as a major influence on how the period is viewed, and scholars and teachers spend considerable energy in coming to terms with the picture of England, in all its richness and complexity, presented in the book. Historians of the greatest distinction, acknowledging its qualities, have taken great pains to point out the errors of the work. Of course, nothing could more vividly attest to its vitality. And the interpretation will not die; no matter how often it may be knocked on the head, it has shaped the way the period is viewed. With its extraordinary literate and witty prose, its power of description and analysis, even if not presented in a traditional scholarly way, it is a study that will always have to be taken into account. There can be few works that are so vital after fifty years, as likely to survive for another fifty or as enjoyable to read. The book has inspired the titles of other publications, notably works of contemporary political history. As recently as May 2017 Douglas Murray named his work on
European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to reques ...
and
Islam in Europe Islam is the Religion in Europe, second-largest religion in Europe after Christianity. Although the majority of Muslim communities in Western Europe formed recently, there are centuries-old Muslim societies in the Balkans, Caucasus, Crimea, and ...
, '' The Strange Death of Europe''. Books have also been published in the 2000s with the titles, ''The Strange Death of Republican America'', ''
The Strange Death of Tory England ''The Strange Death of Tory England'' is a book of political commentary by the journalist Geoffrey Wheatcroft, published in 2005. Outline In the run-up to the 2005 United Kingdom general election, Wheatcroft looks at the journey of the Conserva ...
'', ''The Strange Death of Liberal America'', ''The Strange Demise of British Canada'', ''The Strange Death of Marxism'', ''
The Strange Death of Labour Scotland ''The Strange Death of Labour Scotland'' is a 2012 book about Scottish politics by Gerry Hassan and Eric Shaw. Synopsis Hassan and Shaw examine the decline of Scottish Labour, culminating in it losing Scottish Parliament elections in 2007 and ...
'' and even ''The Strange Non-Death of Neo-Liberalism''. An article in ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' in 2010 proclaimed "The strange death of social-democratic Sweden".''The Economist'', 16 September 2010 –
The strange death of social-democratic Sweden
'


References


Further reading

* Brock, Michael. "The Strange Death of Liberal England" ''Albion'' 17#4, (1985) pp. 409–423 DOI: 10.2307/404943
online
* Stansky, Peter ''"The Strange Death of Liberal England'': Fifty Years After" ''Albion'' 17#4, (1985) pp. 401-403
online
DOI: 10.2307/4049429 * White, Carolyn W. "'The Strange Death of Liberal England' in Its Time" ''Albion'' 17#4, (1985) pp. 425–447. DOI: 10.2307/404943
online


External links



by Paul Foot
Review in '' The Spectator''
by John Vincent
''Albion'' Symposium: George Dangerfield and ''The Strange Death of Liberal England''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strange Death of Liberal England, The 1935 non-fiction books Liberal Party (UK) History books about the United Kingdom 1935 in British politics Books about politics of the United Kingdom Books about politics of England 1935 in the United Kingdom Constable & Robinson books English non-fiction books