Pelican History of England
"If, then, the Pelican History was a success, and much of it was, it owed little to a conscious attempt at coherence imposed from above. Coherence came rather from the common understanding of the English national past (the 'Whig' interpretation of history in the strict sense) which was diffused through all levels of the cultural community – writers, teachers, readers. What made the series so successful was, above all, the colossal commercial advantage Penguin enjoyed at the time in its virtual world monopoly of serious paperback publishing."
Peter Ghosh, historian.[1]
The Pelican History of England is a book series on English history published under the mass-market Pelican Books imprint of Penguin Books between 1950 and 1965. It was subsequently revised and reprinted in numerous editions and the series is said to have "shaped the historical thinking of generations".[2] The series editor was G. M. Trevelyan and the contributors to the series were strongly influenced by the "Whig" view of history which Trevelyan shared.
The series comprised:
- Roman Britain (1955), by Ian Richmond
- The Beginnings of English Society (1952), by Dorothy Whitelock
- English Society in the Early Middle Ages (1951), by Doris Mary Stenton
- England in the Late Middle Ages (1952), by
- Tudor England (1950), by Stanley Bindoff
- England in the Seventeenth Century (1952), by Maurice Ashley. Ashley's book was superseded by J.P. Kenyon's Stuart England (1978)
- England in the Eighteenth Century (1950), by J.H. Plumb
- England in the Nineteenth Century (1950), by David Thomson
- England in the Twentieth Century (1965), by David Thomson
In many of the studies, England was often substituted for Britain or the United Kingdom to produce a cohesive view of the past. The Penguin History of Britain, published in nine volumes over 1996–2018, is intended to supersede the "now dated" series.[3]
See also[]
- Oxford History of England (1936–1965)
References[]
- ^ Ghosh, Peter (26 November 1996). "How We Got to Where We Are". London Review of Books. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- ^ Laity, Paul (25 April 2014). "Pelican books take flight again". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- ^ Walker, David (16 October 1996). "Rewriting History". The Independent. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
- 1950s books
- 1960s books
- Historiography of England
- Series of history books
- Penguin Books book series