The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy

by CANNADINE, DAVID

• ISBN13: 9780375703683
• ISBN10: 0375703683
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-09-07
• Publisher: Vintage

Summary

"A brilliant, multifaceted chronicle of economic and social change." --The New York Times "No praise can be too high." --The New York Review of Books At the outset of the 1870s, the British aristocracy could rightly consider themselves the most fortunate people on earth: they held the lion's share of land, wealth, and power in the world's greatest empire. By the end of the 1930s they had lost not only a generation of sons in the First World War, but also much of their prosperity, prestige, and political significance. Deftly orchestrating an enormous array of documents and letters, facts, and statistics, David Cannadine shows how this shift came about--and how it was reinforced in the aftermath of the Second World War. Astonishingly learned, lucidly written, and sparkling with wit, The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy is a landmark study that dramatically changes our understanding of British social history. "Cannadine has produced a great book, one that is comprehensive in its scope, and of critical importance." --London Review of Books

Author Biography

David Cannadine lives in England.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Vintage Edition
Preface to the 1992 Edition
List of Abbreviations
A Note on Sources
Prologue: Presuppositions and Problems	p. 1
The Embattled Elite	p. 35
The Decline and Dispersal of Territorial Wealth	p. 88
The Erosion of Local Control	p. 139
The Eclipse of a Senatorial Order	p. 182
The Demise of Patrician Professionals	p. 236
The 'Corruption' of Public Life	p. 297
The Dilution of Select Society	p. 341
From Leisured Class to Labouring Aristocracy	p. 391
Lost Causes and Disappointed Hopes	p. 445
The Politics of Paranoia	p. 500
The Reconstruction of Social Prestige	p. 557
The Second World War	p. 606
The End of the Affair	p. 637
Epilogue: Perceptions and Perspectives	p. 697
The Greatest British Landowners, c. 1880	p. 710
Patrician Members of British Cabinets, 1880-1980	p. 711
Senior Posts in the Foreign and Diplomatic Services	p. 712
Titled Company Directors, 1896 and 1920	p. 717
Patrician Mayors of British Towns, 1880-1945	p. 718
Chancellors of British Universities, 1880-1945	p. 720
Viceroys of India and Governors-General of British Dominions	p. 723
Patterns of Estate Ownership, 1876-1976	p. 725
Notes	p. 727
Index	p. 794
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