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Paperback. How do individuals come to form political affiliations? What are the origins of the bonds of attachment and loyalty which develop between individuals, political parties, social movements, and the nation state? What strengthens these bonds, and how may they be broken? "Fractured Loyalties" explores these questions by examining how upper-middle class men in early twentieth-century Britain were socialised into class and gender roles in ways that fostered powerful affiliations with social institutions and ideologies. It shows how both individual disruptions of that process of socialisation (through conflicts over sexuality, career choice, religious and cultural values), and significant historical ruptures such as the outbreak of war, could call into question, or sometimes dramatically realign, those affiliations.The book focuses on case studies of key figures such as Robert Graves, Siegfried Sassoon, and W. H. R. Rivers, as well as lesser-known individuals such as the Liverpool businessman, Gypsiologist and volunteer soldier Scott Macfie, and the Communist literary critic Alick West.Drawing on theories of nationalism, masculinity, liminality and psychoanalysis, it investigates the trajectories of their life histories, and reveals the profound impact on their lives of the First World War. For some, the war offered an escape from or reconciliation of existing conflicts with family and nation; for others, it subverted their existing loyalties, leading them to challenge the values within which they had been educated."I spurn the idea that I am necessarily fonder of my own country than any other", declared West's brother Graeme in 1916. "You're too sane which is as great a crime as being dotty", wrote Graves to Sassoon in 1917. Using a rich body of primary sources including autobiographies, diaries and letters, "Fractured Loyalties" directs attention towards such dissident and contradictory "voices within", evidence of the inner conflicts individuals faced through their familial, political and national affiliations. Examines how upper-middle class men in early twentieth-century Britain were socialised into class and gender roles in ways that fostered powerful affiliations with social institutions and ideologies. This book focuses on case studies of figures such as Robert Graves, Siegfried Sassoon, and W H R Rivers. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.
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