Our systems are now restored following recent technical disruption, and we’re working hard to catch up on publishing. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Find out more

Recommended product

Popular links

Popular links


Modern Britain, 1750 to the Present

Modern Britain, 1750 to the Present

Modern Britain, 1750 to the Present

2nd Edition
James Vernon, University of California, Berkeley
January 2025
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Adobe eBook Reader
9781009379663

    This wide-ranging introduction to the history of modern Britain extends from the eighteenth century to the present day. Vernon structures his compelling narrative around the rise, fall and reinvention of liberal ideas of how markets, governments and empires should work. In this new edition, Vernon expands on four important themes: the history of the environment and climate crisis; global pandemics; the history of minoritised people of colour; and shifting ideas of democracy and sovereignty. This textbook offers a new global history of Britain, demonstrating how the world shaped the course of Britain's modern history. Richly illustrated with figures and maps, the book features textboxes, further reading guides, highlighted key terms and a glossary. A supplementary online package includes a study guide with discussion questions and links to additional primary sources. This textbook is an essential resource for introductory courses on the history of modern Britain.

    • Told as a single narrative of the rise, fall and reinvention of liberalism, helping students to see how each episode is part of a larger story and allowing them to gauge how their own interpretation agrees or differs
    • Vernon demonstrates how global events shaped British history, encouraging students to see the story of modern Britain as part of a global narrative
    • Maps, glossaries and text boxes are used to provide key context, making the text accessible to students from different backgrounds

    Product details

    January 2025
    Adobe eBook Reader
    9781009379663
    0 pages
    This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.

    Table of Contents

    • Preface
    • Part I. 1750–1819: The Ends of the Ancien Regime:
    • 1. The imperial state
    • 2. An englightened civil society?
    • 3. An imperial economy and the great transformation
    • Part II. 1819–1885: Becoming Liberal and Global:
    • 4. A liberal revolution in government
    • 5. An empire of free trade?
    • 6. Practising democracy
    • Part III. 1885–1931: The Crises of Liberalism:
    • 7. The British imperium
    • 8. The social problem
    • 9. The rise of the mass
    • Part IV. 1931–1976: Society Triumphant:
    • 10. Late imperialism and social democracy
    • 11. Social democracy and the cold war
    • 12. The ends of social democracy
    • Part V. 1976–: A New Liberalism?:
    • 13. The neoliberal revolution
    • Glossary.
      Author
    • James Vernon , University of California, Berkeley

      'James Vernon is the Helen Fawcett Distinguished Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley. He has taught the history of modern, imperial, Britain for over thirty years on both sides of the Atlantic. Vernon is the author of Politics and the People (1993), Hunger: A Modern History (2007) and Distant Strangers: How Britain Became Modern (2014), and the editor of Rereading the Constitution (1996), The Peculiarities of Liberal Modernity in Imperial Britain (2011) and the 'Berkeley Series in British Studies' for the University of California Press.'