Product Description

Britain is celebrated for having avoided the extremism, political violence and instability that blighted many European countries between the two world wars. But her success was a closer thing than has been realized. Disillusionment with parliamentary democracy, outbreaks of fascist violence and fears of communist subversion in industry and the Empire ran through the entire period. Fascist organizations may have failed to attract the support they achieved elsewhere but fascist ideas were adopted from top to bottom of society and by men and women in all parts of the country. This book will demonstrate for the first time the true spread and depth of fascist beliefs - and the extent to which they were distinctly British. Like the Continental movements, fascism in the UK encompassed the corporate state, charismatic leadership and youthful rejection of the decadent rule of the older generation. But was it less anti-Semitic? Was it readier to adopt a feminist agenda? And was the fact that Britain finally repudiated fascism more a matter of timing and chance than of fundamental obstacles in British society and politics? "Hurrah for the Blackshirts!" , rich in anecdotes and extraordinary characters, shows us an inter-war Britain on the high-road to fascism but never quite arriving at its destination.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #91448 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Review
" 'This scholarly book shows how widespread fascism was before and in tandem with Mosley's New Party, the British Union of Fascists, half the Conservative Party and many royals.' - Philip Howard, The Times. 'Pugh is one of the most well-respected, diligent and honest scholars working in British history today. This book deserves to be read.' - Gerard DeGroot, Scotland on Sunday. 'The link between a distinct wing of Conservatism and the Italian form of fascism is substantiated in this outstandingly revelatory book.' - Edward Pearce, Glasgow Herald. 'Fascism did not just come from the East-End toughs. It also came from women, the countryside and from parts of the Industrial North. Pugh explores these various strands with a keen eye for detail and a lively sense of the absurd.' - Richard Vinen, Independent"

From the Publisher
Timely and original, this remarkable book reveals for the first time how close Britain came to being a Fascist state in the inter-war years.

About the Author
Martin Pugh was Professor of Modern British History at Newcastle University until 1999, and Research Professor in History at Liverpool John Moores University from 1999 to 2002. He has written ten books on aspects of nineteenth and twentieth century history and is on the board of BBC History Magazine. He is currently writing a social history of Britain between the wars for Cape and Pimlico.

Customer Reviews

Putting the movement in the wider context
This book starts with Prussian troops circling Paris in 1870. The author then painstakingly covers the development of British politics up to 1939, putting the blackshirts, and other movements, in historical context. It is therefore somewhat thin on detail of the blackshirt movement, but is innovative in doing what the author sets out to do: show that the BUF was a logical progression of the political trends of the time, not, as many other supposedly authoritative books often present it, a baffling fluke of political history. In that objective it is successful. For detailed information about the movements themselves, this is perhaps not the book to read. It's not badly written, just badly promoted (like the title, for example).

Boring, boring...
Whatever the author hoped to achieve with this book failed miserably. This book is one of the most boring books I have ever read with regards to the history of British fascism. The few times that there is mention of British fascist organisations & the leading members, it usually gets its facts wrong. The best thing I can say about this book is that the cover artwork is good, even if it is somewhat misleading. This book is nothing more than an over-indulgent too-long ramble about the general political history of the 1920's & 1930's.
Avoid adding this book to your library.
This review was only given 1 star, simply so I could post it, otherwise it should be Zero.

Worthy socio-political history but plodding in parts
Generally, this is a readable and informative piece of social and political history, with the author succeeding in placing the disinct phenomenon of British fascism within its wider context. Thus, we are always made aware of the more general party political, economic and international climate, giving us an appreciation of how the British strain of fascism
was rooted within a set of distinct historical circumstances. Sometimes, the book relies on lists to overwhelm us with information: which members of the great and the great supported (overtly or covertly) Moseley's causes at various points in time are often inserted in the text and interrupt the narrative flow. Overall, an interesting read and would be read profitably alongside the authoritative biographies of Moseley (i.e. those by Robert Skidelsky or Stephen Dorril). Also will appeal to those with a general interest in Britain's turbulent post-war years.