In this, the first fully documented study of British and Irish popular reactions to the outbreak of the First World War, Catriona Pennell explores UK public opinion of the time, successfully challenging post-war constructions of 'war enthusiasm' in the British case, and disengagement in the Irish. Drawing from a vast array of contemporary diaries, letters, journals, and newspaper accounts from across the UK, A Kingdom United explores what people felt, and how they acted, in response to an unanticipated and unprecedented crisis. It is a history of both ordinary people and elite figures in extraordinary times. Pennell demonstrates that describing the reactions of over 40 million British and Irish people to the outbreak of war as either enthusiastic in the British case, or disengaged in the Irish, is over-simplified and inadequate. Emotional reactions to the war were ambiguous and complex, and changed over time. By the end of 1914 the populations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland had largely embraced the war, but the war had also embraced them and showed no signs of relinquishing its grip. The five months from August to December 1914 set the shape of much that was to follow. A Kingdom United describes and explains the twenty-week formative process in order to deepen our understanding of British and Irish entry into war.

About the Author
Catriona Pennell graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in 2008 with a PhD in modern British and Irish history. During her research, she was awarded two major scholarships: the R.B. McDowell-Ussher Fellowship from Trinity College, Dublin (2003-2006), and the R.H.S. Centenary Fellowship from the Institute of Historical Research (2006-2007).

Reviews
Drawing on a prodigious range of national, local, communal and private sources, and casting her net widely throughout the whole United Kingdom, Catriona Pennell has provided a marvellously satisfying study of British (and Irish) popular responses to the outbreak of the war. * Keith Jeffery, Times Literary Supplement *
Historical myths are notoriously enduring, but that of a British "collective war enthusiasm" at the outbreak of war in 1914 should not survive after this excellent and important book, and should be replaced by a view of a nation accepting the need for a war of national defence. * A. W. Purdue, Times Higher Education *
This is a superb book on a number of levels * Dick Hunter, Due North *
combines meticulous scholarship, with narrative drive and subtle analysis. If you buy only one book on war this year make sure it is this one. * Robin Prior *
there is much to commend A Kingdom United as an examination of British and Irish responses towards the outbreak of war. * Richard Batten, War in History *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198708469
Author Catriona Pennell
Format Paperback
Page Count 326
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 157mm * 18mm