Politics of the Past
Inter-war Memories and the Making of British Popular Politics, 1939–2009
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Publishing:4th Sep '25
£29.99
This title is due to be published on 4th September, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£85.00(9781009340281)
How did the everyday stories that ordinary British people told about the 1920s and 1930s shape later ideas about politics?
The inter-war period (1918–1939) is still remembered as a period of mass deprivation – the 'hungry thirties'. But how did this impression emerge? Politics of the Past explains how stories about the inter-war working-class experience in industrial areas came to appear commonplace nationwide.The inter-war period (1918–1939) is still remembered as a period of mass deprivation – the 'hungry thirties'. But how did this impression emerge? Thousands of conversations about life in the inter-war period – between parents and children around the dinner table; among workmates at the pub – shaped these understandings. In turn, these fed into popular politics. Stories about the embryonic welfare system in the early-twentieth century informed how people felt towards the National Health Service; memories of the Great Depression shaped arguments about state intervention in the economy. Challenging accounts of widespread political disengagement in the twentieth century, Politics of the Past shows how re-telling family stories about the inter-war period offered ordinary people an accessible way of engaging in politics. Drawing on six local case studies across Scotland and England, this book explains how stories about the inter-war working-class experience in industrial areas came to appear commonplace nationwide.
'Cowan mobilises memory as a powerful means of understanding historical change, the relationship between generations over time, and, ultimately, the history of modern Britain. An outstanding contribution to the field.' Claire Langhamer, University of Sussex
'Cowan takes his readers on a tour of cities around the UK, richly evoking the specificities of place while building a compelling argument about the shifting meanings of the thirties in popular political imaginaries.' Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite, University College London
'This insightful and engaging book is not only a sophisticated study of memories of the inter-war period, but also a thought-provoking analysis of British popular political culture across the twentieth century. Politics of the Past makes numerous important interventions in the history of modern Britain.' Adrian Bingham, University of Sheffield
'By drawing upon a rich array of social-science interviews, David Cowan reveals how the place of the Depression in post-war politics was shaped by family stories, shifting memories and locality. Politics of the Past is a fascinating account of popular politics and shows the power of emotions, everyday experiences and generation in political life.' Stephanie Ward, Cardiff University
'In his deeply researched and richly analytical book, David Cowan explores the ways in which memories of the 1930s have been variably composed, narrated and received across post-war British history. … [The book] will be of significant interest to oral historians because of the central place of memory within its purview.' George Severs, Oral History Society
ISBN: 9781009340311
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
299 pages