The Strange Death of Liberal England : 1910-1914

"This book focuses on the chaos that overtook England on the eve of the First World War. Dangerfield weaves together the three wild strands of the Irish Rebellion (the rebellion in Ulster), the Suffragette Movement and the Labour Movement to produce a vital picture of the state of mind and the most pressing social problems in England at the time. The country was preparing even then for its entrance into the twentieth century and total war. Dangerfield argues that between the death of Edward VII and the First World War there was a considerable hiatus in English history. He states that 1910 was a landmark year in English history. In 1910 the English spirit flared up, so that by the end of 1913 Liberal England was reduced to ashes. From these ashes, a new England emerged in which the true prewar Liberalism was supported by free trade, a majority in Parliament, the Ten Commandments, but the illusion of progress vanished. That extravagant behavior of the postwar decade, Dangerfield notes, had begun before the war. The war hastened everything - in politics, in economics, in behavior - but it started nothing. George Dangerfield's wonderfully written 1935 book has been extraordinarily influential. Scarcely any important analyst of modern Britain has failed to cite it and to make use of the understanding Dangerfield provides. This edition is timely, since the year 2010 has seen a definitive resurrection of Liberal power. Subsequent to the General Election of July 2010 the government of the United Kingdom has been in the hands of a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition. The Deputy Prime Minister is the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party - the direct successor of the old Liberal Party examined by Dangerfield. Five Liberal Democrat members of Parliament were appointed to the Cabinet and there are Liberal Democrat ministers in all governmental departments. After decades of absence from government power, Liberalism seems to be back with a vengeance."--Provided by publisher At the beginning of the twentieth century Britain's empire spanned the globe, her economy was strong and the political system seemed to be immune from the ills that afflicted so many other countries. After a resounding electoral triumph in 1906 the Liberals again formed the government of the most powerful nation on earth, yet within a few years the army had mutinied, industrial unrest was rife and civil war loomed in Ireland.The Strange Death of Liberal England is the classic study of this rapid collapse of a self-confident body politic. Three factors combined to bring Liberal England to its knees: the Home Rule crisis brought Ireland to the brink of civil war, while the campaign for women's suffrage created widespread civil disorder, and an unprecedented strike wave swept the land.The years before the First World War are often presented as a golden age, but this stylish and witty history shows the turbulence of an alleged belle époque to have been the writing on the wall for a nation that had for too long thought of itself as all-powerful. Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Introduction to the Transaction Edition -- Foreword -- Part I Their Lordships Die in the Dark May, 1910-August, 1925 -- I. The Comet -- II. The Liberals, 1906-1910 -- III. Their Lordships Die in the Dark -- Part II Hubris 1911-1913 -- I. "Animula Vagula ..."--II. The Tory Rebellion -- III. The Women's Rebellion -- IV. The Workers' Rebellion -- Part III The Crisis January-August, 1928 -- I. Mutiny at the Curragh -- II. The Guns of Larne -- III. The Pankhursts Provide a Clew -- IV. The Triple Alliance -- V. Sarajevo -- VI . Buckingham Palace to Bachelor's Walk -- Epilogue The Lofty Shade -- Bibliography -- Index strange death cover resized 1 TheStrangeDeathOfLiberalEngland 2 Contents 8 Foreword by Paul Bew 10 Author’s Foreword 16 Part I: Their Lordships Die in the Dark May 1910 – August 1911 18 1 The Comet 20 2 The Liberals 1906–10 23 3 Their Lordships Die in the Dark 40 Part II: Hubris 1911 – 1913 70 1 ‘Anima Vagula ...’ 72 2 The Tory Rebellion 75 3 The Women’s Rebellion 124 4 The Workers’ Rebellion 181 Part III: The Crisis January – August 1914 270 1 Mutiny at the Curragh 272 2 The Guns of Larne 284 3 The Pankhursts Provide a Clue 296 4 The Triple Alliance 315 5 Sarajevo 325 6 Buckingham Palace to Bachelor’s Walk 331 Epilogue: The Lofty Shade 346 Bibliography 358 Index 362 At the beginning of the 20th century, Britain gave every appearance of stability and power, but would soon be affected by civil unrest which threatened to bring the country to its knees. This book offers an account of the politics of the era A study of a meltdown of a body politic which shows the turbulence of an alleged ""belle époque"" to have been the writing on the wall for a nation that had for too long thought of itself as all-powerful