This exceptional book is the first full-length study on the 1951 Festival of Britain. As a consciously constructed cultural and educational event, or rather series of events, the Festival provides an opportunity to see a society and a government struggling to recast national identity after the experience of World War II. Primarily an examination of how Britain and Britishness were portrayed in the 1951 Festival’s exhibitions and events, Becky E. Conekin considers the Festival’s history and historiography, its purpose, its representations of the future and the past, the role of London and the "local", the British Empire and finally its legacy.
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"The autobiography of a nation assembles an impressive array of evidence and argument for judging this fascinating moment in British postwar cultural history. Uniting the best of history and cultural studies, Becky Conekin contributes an essential building block for the gradually accumulating historiography of the postwar era." -- Geoff Eley, University of Michigan
"This book makes a significant contribution to the design and social history of postwar Britain." -- Simon Gunn, University of Leeds
"This book makes a significant contribution to the design and social history of postwar Britain." -- Simon Gunn, University of Leeds
About the Author
Becky E. Conekin is Research Fellow and Lecturer, London College of Fashion, The London Institute.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Making the Modern World,
This review is from: The Autobiography of a Nation: The 1951 Festival of Britain (Paperback)
This is simply a brilliant book about one of the most exciting cultural experiments in twentieth century Britain. Becky Conekin's meticulous study of the 1951 Festival of Britain stands as the definitive account of this remarkable event. The Festival offered a bold and exciting vision of what `being modern' would be like in the postwar world, and how the future would look and feel, as the arts and sciences were used to recast everyday life. The book is full of fascinating detail, and intriguing paradoxes. Conekin beautifully depicts the postwar period as a moment in which ideas and intellectual work were taken seriously for their own sake, in which utopian thinking was part of public debate and fed into government planning, and in which social democratic ideals were used to enhance the quality of life in more than material ways. It allows us to recover an episode in cultural experimentation that reminds us that thinking across conceptual boundaries leads to inspiring and imaginative thinking that could still contribute to our thinking about innovation and everyday life in the modern world.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cultural History at its best,
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This review is from: The Autobiography of a Nation: The 1951 Festival of Britain (Paperback)
This is a well-researched and engagingly written account of a key moment in Britain's postwar history. An essential book for those interested in the British recovery from war and the key role culture played in its achievement.
5.0 out of 5 stars
smart history book,
This review is from: The Autobiography of a Nation: The 1951 Festival of Britain (Paperback)
This is an exemplary work of scholarship - smart, focused, observant, and well-written. 1950s Britain has not received the attention it deserves from U.S.-based historians. This book is an important exception. Highly recommended!
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