The Geographies of Englishness

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the notion of Englishness was widely debated in English art and cultural circles. Might there be a specifically English landscape and an English way of representing it? Was the history of the nation unique, and might there be a particular and resilient national character? This original volume is the first to examine the intersection of national identity, modernization, and landscape in English art during the period from 1880 to 1940.Individual chapters consider how changing ideals and debates were at work in English art during these decades of social and cultural change. The contributors address topics ranging from the assimilation of French styles in English art before the First World War to themes of national identity and modernization in the years leading to the Second World War. From various fresh perspectives, this book offers new insight into the invention of nation and its consequences for English art during this critical era.