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

by Eric J. Evans

B> This is a survey of every aspect of the period in which the Britain was transformed into the world's first industrial power. It was an era of revolutionary change unparalleled in Britain, yet one in which transformation was achieved without political revolution. The combination of revolution and transition is a major theme of the book, which ranges across the embryonic empire, the Church, education, health, finance and rural and urban life, and gives particular attention to the Great Reform Act of 1832. Examining Britain's rise to superpower status, this third edition of The Forging of the Modern State includes an entirely new introductory chapter, and is illustrated for the first time. For those interested in British history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

457 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.