'Ruddick's calm, well-reasoned and sensitive approach to this slippery topic produces a survey which is both clear and richly illustrated, grounded in a convincing vision of political society, and alert to the ways in which rhetoric relates to political reality … This book offers a rich and brilliantly crafted survey of English national identity, put together from a remarkable array of disparate sources.' John Watts, The English Historical Review
Introduction I. Historiography; Introduction II. Context, sources and methodology; 1. England as a territory; 2. Defining the English people; 3. Englishness: race, ethnicity and national character; 4. King, kingdom and people: the idea of England in political rhetoric; 5. Nationality, allegiance and subjecthood in the king's wider domains; 6. God and England: ecclesiastical rhetoric and a political theology of nationhood; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.