Writing Politics in Modern Britain: Genre and Cultures of Publishing since 1900

doi:10.1017/9781009634304

Why do people write about politics? And why does political writing get published? This innovative study explores the diverse world of modern British political writing, examining its evolving genres and their pivotal role in shaping political identities, ideologies, and movements. Spanning memoirs, biographies, parliamentary novels, fanzines, and grassroots publications, chapters consider how these forms have documented lived experiences, challenged authority, and influenced political discourse across all levels of society. Contributions from leading scholars illuminate the creative strategies and cultural contexts of political writing since the late nineteenth-century across varied regional contexts, from Beatrice Webb's diaries to punk zines and Conservative pamphlets. In doing so, they examine the interplay of literature, propaganda, and activism, offering fresh perspectives on the connections between politics and publishing. Accessible and insightful, this study provides a window into how political ideas are crafted, disseminated, and reinforced through the written word. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

‘Even in an age of podcasts and TikTok, the written word remains crucial to how both politicians and voters understand and articulate political ideas. The authors in this capacious and engaging volume shed a new light on how writing about politics has shaped our understanding in the modern era. The volume is an important contribution to the literature on contemporary political history.

Laura Beers - American University

‘In Writing Politics in Modern Britain, an accomplished array of practitioners of the ‘new political history' address how literary conventions shape political texts. The result is a distinctly original contribution to our understanding of how politics has been conceived in modern Britain, with a commendable focus on the contexts of gender and sexuality.'

Martin Francis - University of Sussex

‘This invaluable collection explores how acts of writing and publishing enabled different ways of ‘doing politics.' Dazzling in scope, the authors expertly examine the connections between writers and readers at all levels of society. Writing Politics in Modern Britain will undoubtedly become a landmark study.'

Saima Nasar - University of Bristol

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Contents

Writing Politics in Modern Britain
pp i-ii
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Writing Politics in Modern Britain - Title page
pp iii-iii
Genre and Cultures of Publishing since 1900
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Copyright page
pp iv-iv
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Contents
pp v-vi
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Contributors
pp vii-x
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Acknowledgements
pp xi-xii
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Introduction
pp 1-20
- By Gary Love, Richard Toye
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Part I - Views from Westminster
pp 21-84
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1 - Political Life-Writing
pp 23-42
Biographies, Memoirs, Diaries, and their Para-texts
- By Richard Toye
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2 - ‘Unutterable Trash’
pp 43-63
Politician Authors and the (Alleged) Decline and Fall of the Parliamentary Novel
- By Steven Fielding
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3 - Obituarial Lives
pp 64-84
- By Martin Farr
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Part II - Perspectives from the Left
pp 85-124
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4 - Authorising Herself
pp 87-106
The Political Pen of Beatrice Webb
- By Helen McCarthy
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5 - Versifying Politics
pp 107-124
G. D. H. Cole and the Uses of Poetry
- By Clare Griffiths
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Part III - Perspectives from the Right
pp 125-170
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6 - Genres of British Fascist Writing
pp 127-148
Political Ideas, Gender, Race, and Empire
- By Julie V. Gottlieb, Liam J. Liburd
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7 - The Rise and Fall of the ‘Octopus Plan’
pp 149-170
Conservative Political Writing and Publishing from the 1940s to the 1970s
- By Gary Love
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Part IV - Writing from Below
pp 171-210
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8 - Suburban Revolt
pp 173-191
Punk Fanzines and Formative Politics c. 1976–1986
- By Matthew Worley
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9 - Coalfield Women’s Writing during the 1984–1985 Miners’ Strike
pp 192-210
- By Natalie Thomlinson
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Part V - Networks and Nations
pp 211-254
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10 - British, Irish, Left, Lost
pp 213-233
Revisiting Northern Ireland’s ‘Progressive Bookmen’
- By Connal Parr
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11 - From Print Culture to Parliament? Writing the ‘New Scotland’ into Reality
pp 234-254
- By Scott Hames
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Part VI - The Intellectual Public Sphere
pp 255-293
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12 - Writing for Influence
pp 257-276
Social Scientists, New Society and the Politics of Social Change
- By Lise Butler, Jane Elliott, Jon Lawrence
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13 - The Rhetoric of Dissidence
pp 277-293
Social Critics and Imagined Readers
- By Stefan Collini
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Index
pp 294-310
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Writing Politics in Modern Britain

Genre and Cultures of Publishing since 1900

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