Britain

Paul Rich describes how the aggressive imperialism of the late Victorian age co-existed uneasily with the intellectual search for English 'roots' in a pre-industrial and mythical past.

'Stirring up divine discontent' by education to effect a transformation of the social order became the credo of one of Victorian Christian Socialism's most colourful characters, far outpacing the more temperate aims of its founders.

'... a kind of Ken Livingstone of his day', Britain's great imperialist made his early reputation as a civic radical, promoting public control of local amenities such as water and gas.

Despite the aspirations of Disraeli and others for 'one nation', the dynamics and disparities of Victorian society inexorably sharpened the sense of class identity and its verbal expression.

Nicholas Orme shows how Catholic and Protestant reformers alike campaigned rigorously against medieval attitudes to prostitution which were far less restrictive and oppressive than is often supposed.

'Beyond the pale' - the imperialists' vision of the Irish as ignoble savages originated in the attitudes and writings of medieval Englishmen.

Buying and selling with our 'kith and kin' was the hallmark of an intensive inter-war campaign for the idea of Empire.