Theodore Hoppen's book will define our views of mid-Victorian society for the next two or three generations, and well it should. It is a book written from deep knowledge, wide reading and sparkling historical vision; students and scholars will gain much from reading it. * D. G. Paz, An American Journal - Quarterly Journal devoted to British Studies *
Hoppen's splendid volume in the New Oxford History of England series surpasses in organisation, interpretation, and breadth of treatment its predecessors. * D.G. Paz, An American Journal - Quarterly Journal devoted to British Studies *
The final judgement after 700 pages has to be one of admiration and commendation for Hoppen's magnificent achievement - his handling of the vast literature, his polymathic grasp of an extremely diverse subject matter, and his exceptionally readable prose...he has produced a worthy successor to Woodward and Ensor that will have its place among those authoritative texts on Victorian Britain to which students first turn for guidance. * David Nicholls, Victorian Studies *
Hoppen's splendid volume in the New Oxford History of England series surpasses in organization, interpretation, and breadth of treatment its predecessors...Theodore Hoppen's book will define our views of mid-Victorian society for the next two or three generations, and well it should. It is a book written from deep knowledge, wide reading, and sparkling historical vision; students and scholars will gain much from reading it. D G Paz, University of North Texas
[A]...magnificent achievement - his [Hoppen's] handling of the vast literature, his polymathic grasp of an extremely diverse subject matter, and his exceptionally readable prose...[have] produced a worthy successor to Woodward and Enson that will have its place among those authoritative texts on Victorian Britain to which students first turn for guidance. David Nicholls, Victorian Studies
This stimulating and comprehensive volume provides eloquent justification for the study of modern British history. It should remain an invaluable source of knowledge for today's political class which seems strangely contemptuous and ignorant of this country's past. * Robert Taylor, Spectator *
[An] impressive study of mid-Victorian Britain. * Asa Briggs, THES *
It is a measure of Hoppen's achievement that he manages to convey this rich and nuanced picture of Britain between 1846 and 1886 with prodigious learning and total conviction, but without ever losing control or being overwhelmed by his own erudition...a magnificant work. * David Cannadine, New Statesman *
An account marked by an acute judiciousness and, as always, enviable scholarship. * Michael Bentley, TLS *
[A] welcome development in Victorian historiography...The Mid-Victorian generation, with all the scholarly trappings of a volume in an Oxford history, is the benchmark against which the next few decades of scholarship will be tested ... The Mid-Victorian Generation amounts to a comprehensive, fair and indispensible review of the last thirty years of scholarly work on the period. Professor Hoppen has rendered an older complex historiography more intelligible. The book will quickly take its place alongside those other vital tools of the Victorian specialist. * Dr Miles Taylor, Kings College, UCL, Reviews in History *
...this is a book that celebrates the materialism of Mid-Victorian society, perhaps more unashamedly than any previous general history. There is a great deal in this history that can only inspire awe in the reader. The overall standard of accuracy is very high. * Jonathan Parry, LRB *
Professor Hoppen has produced a very impressive study reflecting...new ways of thinking...a balanced, rounded and extremely engaging account of Britain between the repeal of the Corn Laws and the failure of Gladstone's first Home Rule Bill. As well as offering a wide-ranging survey of the period, Hoppen's study is valuable because it does not mask areas of disagreement between historians in an attempt to provide synthesis. This is an exceptionally imaginative and absorbing book which reveals how those who may not have qualified as voters had an impact on the debate on the legitimacy of the state. Specialists will admire it; undergraduates may find it hard to put down. * Pamela Pilbeam, Royal Holloway College, London. History *