English Society 1688 1832

This is a revised and rewritten edition of a work first published in 1985 as English Society 1688-1832. That book arrived at the opening of a new phase in English historiography, which questioned much of the received picture of English society as secular, modernising, contractarian, and middle class; it began the recovery of the 'long eighteenth century', the period which saw a form of state defined by the close relationship of monarchy, aristocracy and church. In particular, it placed religion at the center of social and intellectual life, and used ecclesiastical history to illuminate many historical themes more commonly examined in a secular framework. In its updated form, this book reinforces these theses with new evidence, which extends its arguments into fresh areas of inquiry.

An extensively revised edition of a classic of modern historiography.

In British history the period from 1688 to 1832 is often called the "long eighteenth century" though it defies easy characterization. Blending narrative chapters with more solid analysis, this book provides a fresh and cogent account of the period and nuanced view of the contours of the age.

A challenge to received ideas about 'revolution in English seventeenth- and eighteenth-century history.

Both a detailed, wide ranging history of the church in the eighteenth century and a fresh and stimulating re-evaluation of the nature of Anglicanism and its role in society.