Re reading the Constitution

Developing the insights of the new cultural history of politics, this book re-examines the debates over the meaning of the English constitution from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries, and establishes its centrality to our understanding of English politics, history and national identity. This 1996 volume of essays is about something which (for many) does not exist and yet which remains central to our understanding of English politics, history and national identity - the constitution. As European integration and demands for constitutional reform have once again moved the constitution to the centre of contemporary politics, an impressive team of contributors re-examines aspects of the debates over the meaning of the constitution and 'public opinion' in the long nineteenth century, from a sedition trial in the 1790s to the enfranchisement of certain women in 1918. With essays engaging with the histories of law, medicine and even with history as a discipline, the book takes stock of the state of the cultural history of English politics, consolidating upon much of the most innovative work in recent years as well as suggesting ways of re-reading the traditional narratives of English political history.