Britain and Its Empire in the Shadow of Rome: The Reception of Rome in Socio-Political Debate from the 1850s to the 1920s
(Hardback)
Available Formats
Publishing Details
Britain and Its Empire in the Shadow of Rome: The Reception of Rome in Socio-Political Debate from the 1850s to the 1920s
By (Author) Dr Sarah J. Butler
Continuum Publishing Corporation
Continuum Publishing Corporation
11th October 2012
United States
Classifications
Tertiary Education
Non Fiction
European history
937.0072041
Physical Properties
Hardback
256
Width 156mm, Height 234mm
Description
Drawing on new primary source evidence, this volume evaluates ancient Rome's influence on an English intellectual tradition from the 1850s to the 1920s as politicians, scientists, economists and social reformers addressed three fundamental debates of the period Empire, Nation and City. These debates emerged as a result of political, economic and social change both in the Empire and Britain, and coalesced around issues of degeneracy, morality and community. As ideas of political freedom were subsumed by ideas of civilization, best preserved by technocratic governance, the political and historical focus on Republican Rome was gradually displaced by interest in the Imperial period of the Roman emperors. Moreover, as the spectre of the British Empire and Nation in decline increased towards the turn of the nineteenth century, the reception of Imperial Rome itself was transformed. By the 1920s, following the end of World War I, Imperial Rome was conjured into a new framework echoing that of the British Empire and appealing to the surging nationalistic mood.
Reviews
This books starts to open an important field of research to some extended analysis. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Butler situates different responses to Roman antiquity within changing historical contexts and periods, revealing the ways in which diverse references to Roman history have been utilized by different classes to articulate or contest social, political, and economic identities. In short, Butler reveals how analogies to Rome have been a way of commenting on and debating the state of the nation. The book is fresh, original, and timely. -- Margaret Malamud, Professor of History, New Mexico State University, USA
Author Bio
Sarah J. Butler is an Honorary Research Fellow at Royal Holloway, University of London, and an Associate Lecturer at the Open University, UK.
