Conservative revolutionary: The lives of Lewis Namier - Hardcover

Hayton, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0719086035 ISBN 13: 9780719086038

Publisher: Manchester University Press, 2019

Synopsis

Acclaimed after the Second World War as England’s greatest historian, Sir Lewis Namier was an eastern European immigrant who came to idealise the English gentleman and enjoyed close friendship with leading figures of his day, including Winston Churchill. Today, Namier is associated with the belief that the thoughts and actions of elites matter most, and with a view of politics in which those who enter public life do so only in pursuit of personal and material advantage. This exaggerated view has made him a hero to social and political conservatives, and a demonic figure to the Left. Preoccupied by nationalism, empire, and human motivation, Namier also remains famous in academic circles for supposedly declaring that any reference to ideas in political discourse was nothing more than ‘flapdoodle’. The first biography of Namier in over thirty years, this book is based on a vast range of sources, including rich new archival material.

About this title

About the Author

D. W. Hayton is a Visiting Professor in the School of English and History at Ulster University

From the Back Cover

Acclaimed in the decade after the Second World War as England’s greatest historian, Sir Lewis Namier’s revolutionary approach gave a new word to the English language: to Namierise. An eastern European immigrant who came to idealise the English gentleman, today Namier is not only associated with a particular historical technique, but also with a way of understanding the world: a belief that the things that matter in society are the thoughts and actions of elites rather than the views of the population at large, and a view of politics in which issues are essentially unimportant, principles are a cloak for self-interest, and all who enter public life do so in pursuit of personal and material advantage. This exaggerated view has attained such a broad acceptance as to make him a hero to social and political conservatives, and a demonic figure to those on the left. Preoccupied by nationalism, empire, and human motivation, Namier also remains a point of reference in academic circles as the man who supposedly declared that in political discourse any reliance upon ideas was nothing more than ‘flapdoodle’.
The first book to integrate all aspects of Namier’s life and writings, this biography is based on a vast range of documentary sources, including entirely new archival material. A key figure in the Zionist movement, Namier played a significant part in public affairs and held a role in the Foreign Office in the First World War, and enjoyed close friendship with leading figures of his day, including Winston Churchill.

Edition details

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0719086035
• ISBN 13: 9780719086038
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 472