Languages of Politics in Nineteenth-Century Britain

The way citizens imagine their polities is a central part of the history of any nation. Their hopes and fears not only guide their own political behaviour, but also shape the responses of politicians. Languages of Politics provides a comprehensible and accessible portrait of public life and political language across the whole of nineteenth-century Britain. It asks: What was the political language actually used by contemporaries? How far were such languages stable and coherent across the period? In what ways did they offer both guides for political action and templates for political judgment? Did they demonstrate consensus or reveal contention? What kinds of shifts and transformations can be identified? This volume brings together leading historians to consider central topics such as governance, statesmanship, patriotism, political economy, religion, democracy, women's suffrage, Ireland and India. The map of the century it offers will be invaluable to all students of political culture.

David Craig is Lecturer in History at the University of Durham, UK. He is the author of Robert Southey and Romantic Apostasy: Political Argument in Britain 1780-1840 (2007).

James Thompson is Senior Lecturer in Modern British History at the University of Bristol, UK. He is the author of British Political Culture and the Idea of 'Public Opinion' (2013).