The Enchanted Glass: Britain and Its Monarchy

(Paperback, 2nd edition)

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In this acclaimed study of British statehood, identity and culture, Tom Nairn deftly dispels the conviction that the Royal Family is nothing more than an amusing relic of feudalism or a mere tourist attraction. Instead, he argues that the monarchy is both apex and essence of the British state, the symbol of a national backwardness. In this fully updated edition, Nairn's powerful and bitterly comic prose lays bare Britain's peculiar, pseudo-modern, national identity-which remains stubbornly fixated on the Crown and its constitutional framework, the "parliamentary sovereignty" of Westminster.

Reviews

A long and brilliant meditation on the nature of the British state, its identity and national culture ... one of the most powerful and original pieces of writing I have ever read on the subject. * London Review of Books *
An ambitious and ruthless dissection of the most down-market comic opera of our age. * Sunday Times *
Dazzling, cliche-nailing ... The first serious study for more than a hundred years to take a coldly analytical look at this most emotion-charged part of our heritage, it reflects a growing sense of the peculiarity of it all. * The Observer *

Author Bio

Tom Nairn was born in Fife in 1932. A leading figure in the post-war New Left, he is generally acknowledged as the most influential Scottish intellectual of his generation. His other books include The Left Against Europe and The Enchanted Glass: Britain and Its Monarchy.