1848: The Revolution of the Intellectuals

This famous essay is now republished, with a new Introduction by James Joll, at a time when its discussion of the power of nationalism in European politics seems particularly relevant. Concentrating on the revolutions in central and eastern Europe, and the relations of Germans, Poles, and Slavs, Namier explains how 1848 inaugurated a new age, not of liberalism as many revolutionaries hoped, but of a nationalism that was to destroy liberal constitutionalism. As Professor Joll demonstrates in his Introduction, the essay also reveals much about the prejudices and passion underlying the historical writing of one of Britain's most prominent historians. The modern reader will find in the range and cogency of this book not only many shafts of light on the year 1848 itself, but also fresh insights into historical forces still at work in our own time.