Little Englanders

There have been plenty of books on the Edwardians before, but never one as richly enjoyable as this ... Because he has read so widely, voraciously consuming newspapers, magazines, stories and songs, he is brilliant at spotting patterns ... other books about the Edwardians are available. But they are rarely as clever and not remotely such good fun. Above all, nobody has done a better job of capturing what ordinary people thought and cared about more than a century ago. -- Dominic Sandbrook, 'Book of the Week' * Sunday Times *
An unconventional history of the years before the Great War, concentrating on popular culture rather than the statesmen and aristocrats whose actions normally dominate the period -- 'History Books of the Year' * Telegraph *
Amusing and engaging ... [a] portrait of a poignant interlude in British history -- Andrew Martin * Observer *
In Little Englanders, Alwyn Turner reveals striking parallels between Britain in decline at the start of the 20th century and our own divisive age ... [a] page-turner of a popular history of the period, crammed with humour and striking quotes -- Andrew Marr * New Statesman *
Little Englanders hums and thrums to the texture and tone of everyday Edwardian life -- Christopher Bray * Daily Mail *
Alwyn Turner has achieved the remarkable feat of shedding new light on the Edwardian era ... his research is impressive and [Little Englanders] is consistently stimulating * Literary Review *
Engrossing ... Alwyn Turner is an assured guide to this brief but dramatic era * Daily Telegraph *
Well written, often fascinating ... Alwyn Turner draws on popular culture to show how violent protest and unrest followed the old queen's death, making nonsense of the fabled Edwardian golden summer -- Simon Heffer * Spectator *
A welcome contribution to an oft-overlooked period ... Turner smashes the mythologies of the age ... a remarkable yet accessible read ... what Turner does so well is capture the cultural landscape, treating us to the leisure, the stories, the songs and the movies of the era ... Ultimately, Turner paints a vivid picture of a tempestuous age: an emerging modernity Britain battling for stability and order * BBC History Magazine *
The Edwardians have long been the lost decade of British history, yet they are that history at its climax. Alwyn Turner sets the record straight, bringing its characters, strains and stresses brilliantly to life -- Simon Jenkins
The very best sort of panoramic portrait, full of vivid characters, emblematic anecdotes and telling social detail, all underpinned by penetrating historical judgement. The Edwardians have fascinated readers for more than a century, yet even those who think they know the period will find much to discover and savour in Alwyn Turner's sometimes unsettling but always life-enhancing pages -- David Kynaston, author * A Northern Wind *
Britain's most electrifying contemporary social historian conjures the forgotten country of more than a century ago ... to reveal a strikingly foreign world which nonetheless holds up a dusty mirror to our own. A magnificent triumph over cultural amnesia, brimming with insight and impossible to put down. Fiercely recommended -- Alan Moore
Every page grips and delights as Alwyn Turner presents a deeply researched yet gorgeously entertaining double vision of something now almost fantastical - a United Kingdom in full Imperial glory - yet unnervingly familiar -- James Hawes, author * The Shortest History of England *
Alwyn Turner is a wonderful raconteur of historical eras. He has a sense for character, and story, and bizarre anecdote, that makes an epoch come alive and makes you feel, at times, that you're living in Edwardian times, albeit with much better food. This is history written from below, and above, and all milieus in between -- Simon Kuper, author * Chums *
Alwyn has the happy knack of making history slip down like a pint of Best. The facts and references and context are all there, yet the whole thing flows like an ideal conversation between two or three well informed friends, teasing out the truth from the half remembered myths of the recent past -- Simon Evans
There is something fascinating and fleeting about the Edwardian era. It is both an ending and a beginning. Little Englanders captures the period perfectly, in all its confidence and uncertainty -- Adrian Tinniswood, author * Noble Ambitions: The Fall and Rise of the Post-War Country House *
An interesting social history of a time that proved much more significant than simply a transition between the reign of Victoria and what we now refer to as Modernity * Bookmunch *
A wonderful and rollicking account of the popular culture of Edwardian Britain, based on a massive amount of reading of the popular literature of the period. It is as entertaining as it is perceptive -- Vernon Bogdanor, Professor of Government, Kings College London, and author * The Strange Survival of Liberal Britain *
How the Edwardians shaped 20th century Britain ... a readable new account * Scottish Legal News *
Praise for Alwyn Turner -- :
Hugely engaging ... Turner's genius lies in finding the odd little stories that get under the nation's skin and reveal what people were really thinking ... He writes with a tremendous sense of fun. -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *
Alwyn Turner is a master of the telling detail ... ravenously inquisitive, darkly comical and coolly undeceived -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *
Turner writes with great fluidity, his tone underpinned by a prevailing sense of irony: even the footnotes are enjoyable * TLS *
Turner's seductive blend of political analysis, social reportage and cultural immersion puts him wonderfully at ease with his readers -- David Kynaston