Aristocracy and the Modern World

ISBN-13: 9781403940735 / Angielski / Miękka / 2006 / 304 str.

Ellis Wasson

Opis

This is the first comprehensive study of the traditional European ruling class during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Distilling the wealth of recent research for students and general readers, Wasson analyzes the role of aristocracy, focusing on the tensions that exist between modern egalitarian values and the way elites shape society. Topics include: wealth, family, conceptions of honour, relations with other classes, culture, recreation, gender, local authority and national power. Individual studies enliven the text.

Spis treści

Acknowledgements.- Introduction.- Defining Aristocracy.- The Ancien Regime.- Wealth.- Family and Honour.- The Beau Monde: Culture and Society.- Swallowing the Toad: Meeting the Middle Classes.- The Habit of Authority: Local Power.- Eagles and Peacocks: National Power.- Aristocide 1917-1945.- Where Are They Now? 1945-2000.- Vital Memories.- Notes.- Bibliography.- Index.

O autorze

ELLIS WASSON is Chair, History Department at Tower Hill School and Adjunct Professor of History at the University of Delaware, USA.

Blurb

Ellis Wasson offers one of the first comprehensive studies of the European ruling class during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Distilling a wealth of recent research, Wasson analyses the role of aristocracy in modern times, focusing on the tensions that exist between egalitarian values and the way elites shape society.

Wasson explodes myths and jettisons stereotypes in sweeping coverage that takes the story from the Congress of Vienna to Stalingrad. The study recounts the change from the genteel world of court balls to Café Society and finally on to Eurotrash. It also contrasts the paradox of continued aristocratic social power and cultural leadership with the gradual decline in their political authority. Aristocracy and the Modern World covers key topics, such as:
- the fabulous wealth of the great magnates
- the relationship between servants and masters
- interaction with the middle classes
- concepts of honour
- culture, recreation and gender
- local authority and national power.

Lively and authoritative, the book reviews developments in Scandinavia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, France, Italy and Spain as well as in Britain, Germany and Russia. It is essential reading for all those with an interest in modern European history.