English Nationalism A Short History [Hardcover]

Englishness is an idea, a consciousness and a proto-nationalism. There is no English state within the United Kingdom, no English passport, Parliament or currency, nor any immediate prospect of any. That does not mean that England lacks an identity, although English nationalism, or at least a distinctive nationalism, has been partly forced upon the English by the development in the British Isles of strident nationalisms that have contested Britishness, and with much success.

So what is happening to the United Kingdom, and, within that, to England? Jeremy Black looks to the past in order to understand the historical identity of England, and what it means for English nationalism today, in a post-Brexit world. The extent to which English nationalism has a deep history is a matter of controversy, although he seeks to demonstrate that it exists, from 'the Old English State' onwards, predating the Norman invasion.

He also questions whether the standard modern critique of politically partisan, or un-British, Englishness as extreme is merited? Indeed, is hostility to England, whatever that is supposed to mean, the principal driver of resurgent English nationalism?

The Brexit referendum of 2016 appeared to have cancelled out Scottish and other nationalisms as an issue, but, in practice, it made Englishness a topic of particular interest and urgency, as set out in this short history of its origins and evolution.

Preface
1. Introduction
2. The Old English State
3. Linked to France, 1066-1453
4. The New Nationalism, 1453-1603
5. British England, 1603-1783
6. Englishness and Empire, 1783-1967
7. Englishness and the Decline of Britishness, 1968-2018
8. Populism
9. Into the Future
10. Postscript from a Pub

This pithy history argues that England's tolerant brand of nationalism has been a force for good. --The Times, Book of the Week

Jeremy Black's book on English nationalism could not bl�