George Bubb Dangerfield (28 October 1904 – 27 December 1986) was a British-born American journalist, historian, and the literary editor of '' Vanity Fair'' from 1933 to 1935. He is known primarily for his book '' The Strange Death of Liberal England'' (1935), a classic account of how 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. For example, while the political systems ...

in Great Britain ruined itself in dealing with the House of Lords,

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

, the Irish question, and

labour unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

, 1906–1914. His book on the United States in the early 19th century, ''The Era of Good Feelings'', won the 1953

Pulitzer Prize for History The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered by Columbia University, is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished book about the histor ...

Biography

Dangerfield was born in

Newbury, Berkshire Newbury is a market town in West Berkshire, England, in the valley of the River Kennet. It is south of Oxford, north of Winchester, southeast of Swindon and west of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. It is also where West Berkshire Council is hea ...

, England, and educated at Forest School, Walthamstow (then in Essex). His first memory, he wrote in his thirties, was "of being held up to a window and shown

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet is the only known List of periodic comets, short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing every 72–80 years, though with the majority of recorded apparitions (25 of 30) occurring after ...

" in 1910. In 1927 he received his B.A. from

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

. In 1930 he moved to the United States, married Mary Lou Schott in 1941, and became an American citizen in 1943. Dangerfield's '' The Strange Death of Liberal England'' (1935) is an account of the failure of the Liberals to deal effectively with increasingly vehement demands from Irish Unionists and Irish Nationalists, industrial workers, and

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 ...

s. It was not given much attention by academic historians when it first appeared, but it has gained admirers because of its lively style and its trenchant analysis. In 1941 Dangerfield published ''Victoria's Heir: The Education of a Prince'', a work on the early life of

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

. After serving with the US Army's 102nd Infantry Division during World War II, Dangerfield returned to the study of history and wrote ''The Era of Good Feelings'' (1952), a history of the period between the presidencies of

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

and

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

, from the start of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

to the start of Jackson's administration on 4 March 1829. Dangerfield characterises the period as constituting the transition "from the great dictum that central government is best when it governs least to the great dictum that central government must sometimes intervene strongly on behalf of the weak and the oppressed and the exploited." The book won the 1953

Bancroft Prize The Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas. It was established in 1948, with a bequest from Frederic Bancroft, in his memory and that of his brother, d ...

and the 1953

. He followed up his work on this period with ''The Awakening of American Nationalism: 1815–1828'' (1965), an instalment in Harper & Row's series "The New American Nation". A

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 1970 remunerated Dangerfield for an extended research stay in Europe. In the UK and in Ireland, he collected material for his last book, ''The Damnable Question: A Study of Anglo-Irish Relations'', which was a finalist for the

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

, where he had taught for a few years at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

Quotations

* If the novel can go to history, history can go to the novel, at least to the extent of bringing a creative imagination to bear upon its characters.... History, which reconciles incompatibles, and balances probabilities, by its very nature eventually reaches the reality of fiction. And that is the highest reality of all. * When codes, when religions, when ideas cease to move forward, it is always in some shining illusion that an alarmed humanity attempts to take refuge.—''The Strange Death of Liberal England'', 343 (Stanford University Press ed., 1997)

Bibliography

*''Bengal Mutiny: The Story of the Sepoy Rebellion'' (1933) *'' The Strange Death of Liberal England'' (1935)
online free
*''Victoria's Heir: The Education of a Prince'' (1941) *''102d thru Germany: WWII Unit History, 102nd Infantry Division''(1945) 70-page booklet prepared and designed with the assistance of T/4 ergeantGeorge B. Dangerfield *''The Era of Good Feelings'' (New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1952) . 1953

. *''Chancellor Robert R. Livingston of New York 1746–1813'' (1960) *"The Awakening of American Nationalism 1815–1828" (1965) *''The Damnable Question: A History of Anglo-Irish Relations'' (1976)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dangerfield, George 1904 births 1986 deaths English emigrants to the United States Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford People from Newbury, Berkshire Pulitzer Prize for History winners Bancroft Prize winners People educated at Forest School, Walthamstow Deaths from leukemia in California American male journalists 20th-century American journalists English historians English male journalists 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers