Table of Contents

Acknowledgements – vi Introduction – 1 1. Industrialization and Urbanization – 13 2. Literature and the Countryside, c. 1800 to 1870 – 25 3. Radicalism and the Land, c. 1790 to c. 1850 – 35 4. Gardens, Allotments and Parks – 46 5. Model Villages and Garden Cities – 58 6. Literary Attitudes to the Countryside in the Later Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries – 67 7. Land Reform After 1850 – 77 8. Preservation, ‘Englishness’ and the Rise of Planning, c. 1880-1939 – 89 9. The Economic Consequences of Rural Nostalgia – 112 10. Rambling – 121 11. The Organic Movement Before and During the Second World War – 131 12. Rural Reconstruction Between the Wars – 141 13. Rural Changes and the Legislative Framework, 1939 to 2000 – 150 14. Agriculture and the Environment – 168 15. Recreation in the Countryside Since the Second World War – 178 16. Intra-village Social Change and Attitudinal Conflict in the Twentieth Century – 187 17. Town, Country and Politics at the End of the Twentieth Century – 198 Notes – 209 Select Bibliography – 222 Index - 229

Promotional Information

In this work Jeremy Burchardt argues that the present "town versus country" debate lies at the root of modern British history. He demonstrates the remarkable influence that attitudes to the British countryside have had on the evolution of modern British life.

About the Author

Jeremy Burchardt is a lecturer in Rural History at Reading University.

Reviews

""Highly recommended. For students of modern Britain, environmental history, and well-read travelers.""--C.W. Wood Jr., Choice .".".an ideal text for students and newcomers to the field.""--Alun Howkins, Social History Society's Bulletin