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The history of England. Volume V, Dominion / Peter Ackroyd.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: Ackroyd, Peter, History of England ; 5.Publisher: London, England : Picador, 2019Copyright date: ©2018Description: x, 387 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour), map, portraits ; 20 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
  • cartographic image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781509881321 (paperback)
Other title:
  • History of England. Volume 5, Dominion
  • History of England. Volume five, Dominion
  • Dominion
Subject(s): Summary: The penultimate volume of Peter Ackroyd's masterful History of England series, Dominion begins in 1815 as national glory following the Battle of Waterloo gives way to post-war depression, spanning the last years of the Regency to the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901. In it, Ackroyd takes us from the accession of the profligate George IV whose government was steered by Lord Liverpool, who was firmly set against reform, to the reign of his brother, William IV, the 'Sailor King', whose reign saw the modernisation of the political system and the abolition of slavery. But it was the accession of Queen Victoria, aged only eighteen, that sparked an era of enormous innovation. Technological progress -- from steam railways to the first telegram -- swept the nation and the finest inventions were showcased at the first Great Exhibition in 1851. The emergence of the middle classes changed the shape of society and scientific advances changed the old pieties of the Church of England, and spread secular ideas across the nation. But though intense industrialisation brought boom times for the factory owners, the working classes were still subjected to poor housing, long working hours and dire poverty. It was a time that saw a flowering of great literature, too. As the Georgian era gave way to that of Victoria, readers could delight not only in the work of Byron, Shelley and Wordsworth but also the great nineteenth-century novelists: the Brontë sisters, George Eliot, Mrs Gaskell, Thackeray, and, of course, Dickens, whose work has become synonymous with Victorian England. Nor was Victorian expansionism confined to Britain alone. By the end of Victoria's reign, the Queen was also an Empress and the British Empire dominated much of the globe. And, as Ackroyd shows in this richly populated, vividly told account, Britannia really did seem to rule the waves.
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Non-Fiction Davis (Central) Library Non-Fiction Non-Fiction 942.081 ACK Available T00814865
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Uncover the intricate past of England in Peter Ackroyd's acclaimed volume, Dominion , a crucial part of his sweeping History of England series. This charismatic narrative opens with the aftermath of Waterloo in 1815 and concludes with the death of Queen Victoria in 1901.

Ackroyd masterfully recounts the era of George IV, whose rule witnessed staunch resistance to reform, and that of 'Sailor King' William IV, an epoch which marked significant modernisation and the abolition of slavery.

When eighteen-year-old Queen Victoria's took the throne, a period of astonishing technological breakthroughs and innovation - such as steam railways and the telegraph. Yet, beneath the progress, Ackroyd unflinchingly reveals the harsh reality of the ordinary working classes mired in poverty whilst the industrial revolution flourishes around them.

It was a time that saw a flowering of great literature, too. As the Georgian era gave way to that of Victoria, readers could delight not only in the work of Byron, Shelley and Wordsworth but also the great nineteenth-century novelists: the Brontë sisters, George Eliot, Mrs Gaskell, Thackeray, and, of course, Dickens, whose work has become synonymous with Victorian England.

Finally, Ackroyd illustrates the British Empire's global expansion, reflecting Britannia's iron rule over the waves, the shockwaves of which are still felt today.

Originally published: London : Macmillan, 2018.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The penultimate volume of Peter Ackroyd's masterful History of England series, Dominion begins in 1815 as national glory following the Battle of Waterloo gives way to post-war depression, spanning the last years of the Regency to the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901. In it, Ackroyd takes us from the accession of the profligate George IV whose government was steered by Lord Liverpool, who was firmly set against reform, to the reign of his brother, William IV, the 'Sailor King', whose reign saw the modernisation of the political system and the abolition of slavery. But it was the accession of Queen Victoria, aged only eighteen, that sparked an era of enormous innovation. Technological progress -- from steam railways to the first telegram -- swept the nation and the finest inventions were showcased at the first Great Exhibition in 1851. The emergence of the middle classes changed the shape of society and scientific advances changed the old pieties of the Church of England, and spread secular ideas across the nation. But though intense industrialisation brought boom times for the factory owners, the working classes were still subjected to poor housing, long working hours and dire poverty. It was a time that saw a flowering of great literature, too. As the Georgian era gave way to that of Victoria, readers could delight not only in the work of Byron, Shelley and Wordsworth but also the great nineteenth-century novelists: the Brontë sisters, George Eliot, Mrs Gaskell, Thackeray, and, of course, Dickens, whose work has become synonymous with Victorian England. Nor was Victorian expansionism confined to Britain alone. By the end of Victoria's reign, the Queen was also an Empress and the British Empire dominated much of the globe. And, as Ackroyd shows in this richly populated, vividly told account, Britannia really did seem to rule the waves.

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