Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE DUFF COOPER PRIZE 2018
'This is stupendous. The British nineteenth century, in all its complexity, all its horror, all its energy, all its hopes is laid bare. This is the definitive history, and will remain so for generations' A.N. Wilson
To live in nineteenth-century Britain was to experience an astonishing series of changes, of a kind for which there was simply no precedent in the human experience. There were revolutions in transport, communication, work; cities grew vast; scientific ideas made the intellectual landscape unrecognizable. This was an exhilarating time, but also a horrifying one.
In his dazzling new book David Cannadine has created a bold, fascinating new interpretation of the British nineteenth century in all its energy and dynamism, darkness and vice. This was a country which saw itself at the summit of the world. And yet it was a society also convulsed by doubt, fear and introspection. Victorious Century reframes a time at once strangely familiar and yet wholly unlike our own.
A superbly told history of Victoria's Britain in all its grandeur and misery, triumph and doubt.
About the Author
Sir David Cannadine is Dodge Professor of History at Princeton University, Visiting Professor at Oxford University and the Editor of the National Dictionary of Biography. His major works include The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy, Ornamentalism, Class in Britain and Mellon: An American Life. He is the general editor of two major series: The Penguin History of Britain and The Penguin History of Europe. Victorious Century is his volume for the former series.
Reviews
A book such as this is a work of heroic summary. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *
Magnificent... a thumping great book, and it is probably destined to become a classic. Cannadine succeeds triumphantly. -- Jane Ridley * Spectator *
A sparkling history, immensely readable * Guardian *
Book Information
ISBN 9780141019130
Author David Cannadine
Format Paperback
Page Count 624
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 449g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 27mm