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George Dangerfield (1) (1904–1986)

Author of The Strange Death of Liberal England

For other authors named George Dangerfield, see the disambiguation page.

10+ Works 896 Members 11 Reviews

About the Author

George Dangerfield's wonderfully written 1935 book has been extraordinarily influential. Scarcely any important analyst of modern Britain has tailed 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 show more 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 Partythe 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. George Dangerfield (1904-1986) was an English journalist, historian, and literary editor of Vanity Fair. Recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Pulitzer Prize, he is the author of numerous works including The Damnable Question: A Study of Anglo-Irish Relations, Chancellor Robert R. Livingston of New York, and The Era of Good Feelings. David Marsland is professor of sociology at the University of Buckingham and series editor of European Social Policy for Transaction Publishers. Some of his books include Seeds of Bankruptcy and Welfare or Welfare State? show less

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This is an exciting read, written with energy and humor, about a crazy time in UK politics, when the ruling Liberal Party muddled through four significant crises of which three had significant constitutional implications -- women's suffrage, the Irish push for Home Rule with the resulting army mutiny and stripping of power from the House of Lords (so I'm counting it as two crises), and the wave of strikes that swept the country. The personalities are closely and affectionately observed and the story is satisfyingly told, but what's missing from the book is a theory of why it was this set of crises that led to the death of the Liberal Party. The author doesn't rate any Labour party leaders particularly highly, and yet by the time the dust had settled after the war Labour had solidly taken over from the Liberals as the party that the Conservatives traded turns in power with. Why did that happen (instead of the UK turning into Canada with a large centrist party often squeezing out both the left and the right)? The book doesn't really address it, and you reach the end having greatly enjoyed the ride and educated about a lot of interesting issues of the time, but none the wiser on what purports to be its central question.… (more)
 
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WilliamWhyte | 5 other reviews | May 15, 2018 |
This is an extremely well-written account of the issues which were bedevilling English society in the run-up to the Great War.

It is certainly an answer to the sentimental views of the war interrupting a golden afternoon of the late Edwardian / early Georgian period: Dangerfield highlights the ways in which the issues we tend to think of as part of the post-war changes -- Ireland, women's votes, the growing eclipse of the Liberals by Labour, trade unionism and radicalism -- were all present as a heady mixture leading into the war (and were suddenly suspended, in a burst of patriotism, on the outburst of war).

Well worth reading, and aimed at the general public of its time rather than the specialist (it does, now, require that one have a bit of general background to put it in context). If it has a weakness, it is that it is too short.
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jsburbidge | 5 other reviews | Sep 26, 2016 |
How did the dominate Liberal Party die in England? How did Edwardian England die?
This book answers these questions and more.
 
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jerry-book | 5 other reviews | Jan 26, 2016 |
The book I sometimes say I would cut off one pinkie to have written. I love George Dangerfield and the way he writes history.
 
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kday_working | 5 other reviews | Apr 7, 2013 |

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