Disraeli claimed that no country suffered more from the foundation of the German Reich than England. Bismarck's empire of 1871 did not, however, strike like a bolt from the blue. The question of German unity had been brewing for decades. Britain and the Germany Question reconstructs the way Victorians pictured the pre-history of the Reich from the July Revolution of 1830 until the eve of the 'Wars of German Unification'. It scrutinises how Britain's foreign political establishment - the diplomats, journalists and politicians who informed, determined and executed British foreign policy -...

During the century that followed the defeat of Napoleonic France, Europe experienced its last monarchical age. In spite of profound changes in almost every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life, monarchical systems survived in rude health across the continent and only the First World War would put a dramatic end to many of them. By focusing on the role played by heirs to the throne, this volume offers an original perspective on the ability of monarchies to flourish under the radically altered conditions of the nineteenth century. The contributions consider the place of royal...