Politics and the Nation

The author presents a new picture of political life in mid-18th century Britain. Written in a clear, accessible style, and drawing on much original material, this book argues that British politics and political culture in the mid-18th-century have often been poorly understood through over-emphasis on "stability". Using a thematic approach, it reconstructs a political world in which vital issues continued to exercise the minds and emotions of those who made up the contemporary "political nation", a group which included far more than the handful of politicans who competed for national political office. This is a book which interprets its subject broadly, and which seeks to tell the stories of politics in this period through the words and projects, hopes and fears, of contemporaries. It also represents an important contribution to the difficult, but important, project of writing the history of the British Isles. Developments in Scotland and Ireland are given careful attention along with those of England.

... this book contains what is best in the 'new British history' ... a lucid and consistently interesting book., Harris's greatest strength is his readiness to allow complexity and ambiguity ... Throughout, Harris makes excellent use of his extensive knowledge of the press ... a major contribution to an integrated view of the long eighteenth century., Whether read as a complete text or by individual chapters, the questions asked and the answers suggested in Mr Harris' study will provoke thought and lead to a deeper understanding of this period in our history.