Book Description

This sparkling account of the great age of Whiggery during the reigns of George I and II is distinguished by its attention to social history. The author deftly explains how the political transformation which brought an end to the âeoerage of partyâe under Queen Anne and ushered in the âeoestrife of factionâe under the Hanoverians was related to social and economic conditions. This major political change brought stability to England andâe"by important, though incremental shifts in mobility, religion, agriculture, industry, and literacyâe"slowly transformed English society. W. A. Speck argues that in 1714 England was ruled by rival elites called Tory and Whig and that by 1760 they had fused to form a ruling class. This union became possible as divisive issues faded and economic and political interests were shared. Whiggery itself, however, split apart for lesser reasons. âeoeCountryâe Whigs were restorationists on moral and religious grounds while âeoeCourtâe Whigsâe"neither Saints, nor Spartans, nor Reformersâe"created the mechanisms to realize the promise of the Glorious Revolution of 1689: mixed monarchy, property and liberty, and Protestantism. Stability and Strife is the most up-to-date book in English eighteenth-century history in its methodsâe"the use of social science data and literary sourcesâe"and in its sophisticated topical and narrative approaches to this fascinating era.