The nineteenth century was Britain's, in the sense that during the
period she more closely approached the status of world hegemonic power
than ever before - or since. The workshop of the world and the homeland
of the mind, Britain was an unchallenged industrial and manufacturing
power, with undisputed control of the seas and the largest formal empire
ever seen. She was also a place of refuge for liberal intelligentsia in
flight from despotic and reactionary regimes elsewhere in the world.


Looking at the historical evolution of the central political
institutions, and the social milieu surrounding them, this book helps to
explain Britain's pre-eminence during the nineteenth century. The
'political' history of the country from 1815 to 1905 - a substantial
part of the book - provides the necessary foundation for a social
history that focuses particularly on issues of demography, religion,
social class, and gender.