'Peter Yeandle’s contribution on the politics of teaching history in England between 1870 and1930 does not disappoint. […] Throughout the book Yeandle has one eye on the contemporary debates on the teaching of history in schools in the twenty-first century. Indeed, the recent 800 year anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta has generated some rather far-fetched claims about its supposed significance in the creation of Britain’s modern democracy. Yeandle’s fascinating book exposes this claim to be largely a nineteenth-century invention and shows us the value of analyzing the history text and the pedagogic debates that created them.'The Journal of the Social History Society'Yeandle’s study significantly extends our knowledge of how imperialism was implicated in the teaching of history before 1930. Its findings will appeal to anyone interested in the development of history as a discipline, as well as to scholars of popular imperialism and elementary education alike.'Journal of the History of Education Society'This is a brief and powerful work, focused on two interconnected historical problems—the politics of historical pedagogy and the inculcation of imperial culture. It is remarkably successful, and Yeandle’s solid research will engage scholars of historiography and of pedagogical bibliography long after Britain’s Michael Gove moment has passed.'Twentieth Century British History