The challenge implicit in Bentley's task is great. His response is witty, intellectually exciting, stylistically seductive, and itself stands as a challenge to broad perspectives on Victorian politics. Victorian Studies
Bentley writes with a wide fund of knowledge; his judgements are shrewd and always worth considering. Encrusted orthodoxies are often challenged and negative home truths are brought into the open. Times Higher Education Supplement
Map: Some Places.
Introduction to the First Edition.
Introduction to the Second Edition.
Part I: Pressure from Without, 1815-65: .
1. The Transformation of Party.
2. Renewal and Consolidation.
3. The Mechanics of Stability.
Part II: Pressure from Within, 1865-1914: .
4. Occupying the Centre.
5. Conservative Ascendancy.
6. Breaking the Mould?.
Appendix: Some People.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Research Theses.
Primary Sources.
Further Reading.
Index.