The Forging of the Modern State: Early Industrial Britain, 1783-1870

by Eric J. Evans

This famous book surveys every aspect of the period in which Britain was transformed into the world's first industrial power. It was an era of revolutionary change unparalleled in Britain - yet that change was achieved without political revolution. This combination of revolution and transition is a central theme of the book. This major new edition is fully revised to take account of recent scholarship and fresh perspectives on the period. The recasting of Part Two (on the industrial revolution and its consequences) has been particularly extensive; the bibliography has been enlarged and brought up to date; and there is increased emphasis on British as opposed to English perspectives throughout.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

486 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 1983

Reviews

[JD Newick]

Another old textbook from uni I dug up and thought I'd give a re-read. No idea why 1870 was chosen as the cutoff point... 1867, 1868, 1871 or 1873 are all far more significant years as far as the mid-Victorian era goes. Still, it's pretty informative and impressive in breadth if not in depth, not only for the bilbiography but particularly for the compendium of tables, graphs, timelines, etc that make up the appendices.

[Gillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dry as an old stick in places. Read twice to properly understand - did I fall asleep the first time. Very informative though hence 3 stars!

[Cath Holden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow!

[Rob Markley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really gets to the heart of the matter - the world is changing into the modern and everything about the Napoleonic era must be understood in this context.