On Living in an Old Country

The National Past in Contemporary Britain

Patrick Wright author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:26th Feb '09

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

On Living in an Old Country cover

The hulk of Henry VIII's flagship is raised from the seabed in an operation that captures the mind of the nation. The leader of the Labour party wears an informal coat at the Cenotaph and provokes a national scandal. An elderly lady whose ancient house is scheduled for demolition dismantles it, piece by piece, and moves it across the country... On Living in an Old Country probes such apparently fleeting and disconnected events in order to reveal how history lives on, not just in the specialist knowledge of historians, archaeologists and curators, but as a tangible presence permeating everyday life and shaping our sense of identity. It investigates the rise of 'heritage' as expressed in literature, advertising, and political rhetoric as well as in popular television dramas, conservation campaigns, and urban development schemes. It explores the relations between the idea of an imperilled national identity and the transformation of British society introduced by Margaret Thatcher. This is the book that put 'heritage' on the map, opening one of the defining cultural and political debates of our time, and showing why conservation is a subject of such broad significance in contemporary Britain. This new edition includes an extensive new preface and interview material reflecting on the ongoing debate about the heritage industry which the book helped to kick-start.

Patrick Wright is a sensitive, ultra-thoughful explorer… With a large torch and copious notes he invites the reader to a number of meandering guided tours well of the main footpaths. * Tom Nairn, The Guardian *
A quite exceptional and richly rewarding book… You won't feel the same about the Heritage Industry after this devastating series of iconoclastic reflections. * Colin Ward, Times Educational Supplement *
Wright is a brilliant analyst of cultural meanings and has uncovered… a central truth about the force of nostalgia in modern England. * Paul Addison, London Review of Books *
In a rich and suggestive series of essays Patrick Wright explores the ways in which history itself has become the most powerful source of contemporary meanings about what Britain is and what it is to be British. * Stuart Hall *

ISBN: 9780199541959

Dimensions: 196mm x 128mm x 19mm

Weight: 237g

320 pages

Updated Edition