Review
'The thrust of the argument is the more effective for being deliberately understated, often merely implicit ... A Patriot Press is a significant study of a neglected decade ... his book is scholarly and well written, a worthy product of the Paul Langford research school' Times Literary Supplement
'This book makes important contributions to the study of mid-eighteenth-century England ... It is not the least of the many virtues of this book that it should serve to stimulate further argument and research on this topic.' P.A. Luff, Wellington College, Parliamentary History, 13,3 (1994)
'fine book...a detailed case study of the press in the hitherto neglected decade of the 1740s... this lucid and well constructed book is a sound and sensible study which will stand as an important corrective to some of the wilder claims made by revisionists in recent years about the nature and conduct of eighteenth-century politics. H. V. Bowen, Early Modern History
"This book enriches our understanding of the language of mid-eighteenth-century patriotism...Robert Harris opens a window on the relationship between foreign developments and English politics."--American Historical Review
"This review can only hint at the wealth of evidence Harris has assembled. His scholarship compels respect; his well-argued conclusions are certain to inspire further work on the 1740s, and his engaging and straightforward style make the book a pleasure to read."--The Historian
"All students of eighteenth-century politics will learn from his work."--Albion
"...This is a carefully detailed and valuable account of the political history of the period as it revealed itself in a forum..."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History
`It is in handling the complex relationship between the press, Patriot opposition groups and the unfolding military and diplomatic scene in Europe that the author makes his most confident and telling contributions.' EHR
`a major contribution to the area ... The chief attraction for social historians will be the mass of useful material for further work.' Social History Society Bulletin
`this is an interesting and useful book...and will contribute to the continuing debate about the relationship of print and politics in the eighteenth century.' British Journal for Eighteenth Century Studies
'This book makes important contributions to the study of mid-eighteenth-century England ... It is not the least of the many virtues of this book that it should serve to stimulate further argument and research on this topic.' P.A. Luff, Wellington College, Parliamentary History, 13,3 (1994)
'fine book...a detailed case study of the press in the hitherto neglected decade of the 1740s... this lucid and well constructed book is a sound and sensible study which will stand as an important corrective to some of the wilder claims made by revisionists in recent years about the nature and conduct of eighteenth-century politics. H. V. Bowen, Early Modern History
"This book enriches our understanding of the language of mid-eighteenth-century patriotism...Robert Harris opens a window on the relationship between foreign developments and English politics."--American Historical Review
"This review can only hint at the wealth of evidence Harris has assembled. His scholarship compels respect; his well-argued conclusions are certain to inspire further work on the 1740s, and his engaging and straightforward style make the book a pleasure to read."--The Historian
"All students of eighteenth-century politics will learn from his work."--Albion
"...This is a carefully detailed and valuable account of the political history of the period as it revealed itself in a forum..."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History
`It is in handling the complex relationship between the press, Patriot opposition groups and the unfolding military and diplomatic scene in Europe that the author makes his most confident and telling contributions.' EHR
`a major contribution to the area ... The chief attraction for social historians will be the mass of useful material for further work.' Social History Society Bulletin
`this is an interesting and useful book...and will contribute to the continuing debate about the relationship of print and politics in the eighteenth century.' British Journal for Eighteenth Century Studies
Product Description
This is a meticulous and scholarly study of the polemical press of the 1740s, and the first substantial investigation of the politics of the Pelham regime for a generation. Robert Harris examines the vigorous and wide-ranging debate in tracts and periodicals about the principal issues of the day--the fall of Walpole, the influence of Hanover, the Forty-Five, and the War of the Austrian Succession. Harris's detailed analysis of the confusing and fragmented politics of the 1740s sheds important light on patterns of change and continuity in the political culture of mid-eighteenth-century English politics. A Patriot Press makes an important contribution to our understanding of political ideology and party strife in the eighteenth century, as well as to our knowledge of the workings of the press.
