Storied Ground: Landscape and the Shaping of English National Identity Unavailable

In this insightful, original, and gracefully written analysis of six iconic English landscapes and their relationship to English (and occasionally British) national identity, Readman brings together art and history with great fluidity. As he points out, the value of landscapes often depends on factors other than their perceived physical properties. Nor do the sources of English identity in the nineteenth century—the focus of this book—lie solely in written histories, the evolution of the historical profession, or state-sponsored events such as world’s fairs. On the contrary, the places discussed in Storied Ground—the cliffs of Dover, the Northumbrian borderland, the Lake District, the New Forest, the city of Manchester, and the Thames River—show how landscapes helped to define the cultural boundaries of the nation, provided a sense of connection between past and present, and developed and deepened a sense of Englishness that was urban and rural, national and imperial, local and...