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The People's Historian John Richard Green and the Writing of History in Victorian England

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Anthony Brundage

Book Code: BGK/

ISBN: 0-313-27954-3

ISBN-13: 978-0-313-27954-6

DOI:

200 pages, photographs

Greenwood Press

Publication: 11/30/1993

List Price: $107.95 (UK Sterling Price: £59.95)

Availability: Out of stock

Media Type: Hardcover

Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4

Subjects:

Series Title: Studies in Historiography

Series Number: 2

Reviews:

Clearly and gracefully written, this book is a model treatment of an individual unjustly neglected by posterity. Brundage has rescued Green from the disdain of those who prefer other forms of historical inquiry. One happy effect of this work, in conclusion, is to cause reflection upon the common enterprise that unites the readers of Albion; it is one of the many reasons why this study of Green deserves attention.
—
Albion

Description: In 1874, John Richard Green, a virtually unknown former clergyman, sold the rights for his school textbook, A Short History of the English People, to Macmillan for 350 pounds sterling, a generous sum for a work expected to sell a few thousand copies. To everyone's astonishment, the work sold 32,000 copies in its first year, and a half million copies thereafter. This publishing phenomenon was also a breakthrough in historiography, for unlike earlier histories, which focused on kings and statesmen, Green's work revolved around the common people, their creative energy, and their devotion to self-government. Thus, Green was a critical figure in the transition from the writing of history of elites to a broader history of social and cultural change. He was also one of the last great amateurs at a time when the field was coming to be dominated by academic specialists. By providing an examination of Green's career, this book illuminates a critical juncture in the history of the discipline.

Table of Contents:

Use of Revised Edition of Short History of the English People
Introduction
Outside Looking In: An Oxford Boyhood
An Ambivalent Undergraduate: The Jesus College Years
The Church, the World, and the Self: A Clergyman's Struggles
Writing for the Saturday Review: Self-Revelation and Historical Apprenticeship
The Short History of the English People
Public Acclaim
Political Involvements
Marriage and Final Works
Aftermath and Legacy
Bibliography
Index

LC Card Number: 93-10379

LCC Class: DA3

Dewey Class: 941


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