Writing Englishness: An Introductory Sourcebook

Judy Giles is Senior Lecturer in Women’s Studies, Cultural Studies and Literature at the University College of Ripon & York St John. She is the author of Women, Identity and Private Life in Britain 1900–1950 (1995). Tim Middleton is Senior Lecturer in Literary and Cultural Studies and Head of the English Studies programme at the University College of Ripon & York St John.

• 1 THE IDEAS AND IDEALS OF ENGLISHNESS 1 J.B. Priestley, ‘Little Englanders’ From English Journey (1934) 2 E.M. Forster, ‘If one wanted to show a foreigner England…’ From Howards End (1910) 3 W.H. Davies, ‘England’ From Our Nation’s Heritage (1939) 4 D.H. Lawrence, ‘I don’t like England very much, but…’ From The Letters of D.H. Lawrence (1932) 5 E.M. Forster, ‘Middle-class people smell’ From Selected Letters of E.M. Forster: Volume 1: 1879–1920 6 Phillip Gibbs, ‘Here, then, is something of England…’From England Speaks (1935) 7 J.H. Thomas, ‘I do foresee a far happier England…’From When Labour Rules (1920) 8 Arnold Bennett, ‘An honest and naïve goodwill…in the very air of England’ From The Old Wives’ Tale (1908) 9 E.M. Forster, ‘Why has not England a great mythology?’ From Howards End (1910) 10 T.S. Eliot, ‘What is part of our culture is also part of our lived religion’ From Notes Towards the Definition of Culture (1948) 11 C.F.G. Masterman, ‘We cannot help being interested in ourselves’ From The Condition of England (1909) 12 Ford Madox Ford, ‘The Englishman feels very deeply and reasons very little’ From The Spirit of the People (1907) 13 Phillip Gibbs, ‘The soul of England spoke again…’ From England Speaks (1935) 14 Sir Ernest Barker, ‘Some Constants of the English Character’ From The Character of England (1947) 15 Arthur Mee, ‘The nation is a living body’ From The Children’s Encyclopaedia 16 Wyndham Lewis, ‘Dear old Great Britain has to take in partners’ From The Hitler Cult (1939) 17 Jan Struther, ‘Back from Abroad’ From Mrs. Miniver (1939) 2 VERSIONS OF RURAL ENGLAND 18 Edward Thomas, ‘The Village’ From The Heart of England (1906) 19 H.V. Morton, ‘The fun it is to tramp from town to town…’ From In Search of England (1927) 20 Edmund Blunden, ‘How much that we loved is going or gone!’ From The Face of England (1932) 21 H.V. Morton, ‘We may not revive the English village of the old days…’ From In Search of England (1927) 22 J.W. Robertson-Scott, ‘A community which has almost always been hovel housed’ From England’s Green and Pleasant Land: The Truth Attempted (1925) 23 Stanley Baldwin, ‘England is the country, and the country is England’ From On England (1926) 24 J.B. Priestley, ‘The Three Englands’ From English Journey (1934) 3 WAR AND NATIONAL IDENTITY 25 Virginia Woolf, ‘Her sex and class has very little to thank England for…’ From Three Guineas (1938) 26 Ernest Raymond, ‘I see a death in No Man’s Land to-morrow as a wonderful thing’ From Tell England: A Study in a Generation (1922) 27 Rupert Brooke, ‘The Soldier’ From 1914 and Other Poems (1915) 28 Siegfried Sassoon, ‘Memorial Tablet’ (1919) From Georgian Poetry 29 Edward Thomas, ‘As the Team’s Head Brass’ (c. 1915) From The Collected Poems of Edward Thomas 30 J.B. Priestley, Talk from 21 July 1940 From All England Listened: The Wartime Broadcasts of J.B. Priestley 31 Mass Observation National Panel Member, ‘Conscripts’ attitudes to war politics’ (April 1940) From Speak for Yourself: A Mass Observation Anthology 1937–49 32 Winston S. Churchill, ‘Victory—victory at all costs…’From Into Battle: War Speeches by Right Hon. Winston S. Churchill (1941) 33 Winston S. Churchill, ‘We shall go on to the end…’From Into Battle: War Speeches by Right Hon. Winston S. Churchill (1941) 34 Herbert Morrison, ‘Let us take stock of ourselves’ From Looking Ahead: Wartime Speeches by the Right Hon. Herbert Morrison (1943) 35 Winston S. Churchill, VE speeches From Victory: War Speeches by Right Hon. Winston S. Churchill (1945) 36 Winston S. Churchill, Address to the King From Victory: War Speeches by Right Hon. Winston S. Churchill (1945) 37 Mass Observation ATS Clerk, Diary account of VE Day From Wartime Women 38 Ministry of Information, Programme for film Propaganda From Documentary Newsletter (1940) 39 Jan Struther, ‘From Needing Danger’ From Mrs. Miniver (1939) 14 CULTURE AND ENGLISHNESS FUNCTIONS FOR ENGLISH 40 Newbolt Committee, ‘The bulk of our people…are unconsciously living starved existences’ From The Teaching of English in England (1921) 41 Newbolt Committee, ‘Middle-class trivialities’ From The Teaching of English in England (1921) REACTIONS TO MODERNISM 42 James Bone, ‘We make two pretty things grow where one idea grew before’ From ‘The Tendencies of Modern Art’ (1913) 43 Pont, ‘Short story in the new manner’ From The British Character: Studied and Revealed by Pont (1938) 44 Winifred Holtby, ‘Mistaking the grotesque for the beautiful’ From Letters to a Friend (1937) 45 Frank Swinnerton, ‘Ill-mannered and pretentious dilettanti’ From The Georgian Literary Scene (1935) SPORT AND NATIONAL IDENTITY 46 Vita Sackville-West, ‘The English man is seen at his best the moment that another man starts throwing a ball at him’ From The Character of England (1947) 47 Neville Cardus, ‘Cricket at Shastbury’ From Good Days (1931) POPULAR CULTURE AND EVERYDAY LIFE 48 J.B. Priestley, ‘Sunday Evenings’ From English Journey (1934) 49 J.B. Priestley, ‘Blackpool’ From English Journey (1934) 50 George Orwell, ‘Boys’ Weeklies’ From Collected Letters, Essays and Journalism (1939) 51 Pearl Jephcott, ‘Girls Growing Up’ From Girls Growing Up (1943) 5 DOMESTIC AND URBAN ENGLANDS THE HOMES OF ENGLAND 52 Ebenezer Howard, ‘Garden Cities’ From Garden Cities of Tomorrow (1902) 53 John Buchan, ‘Fellows like me don’t understand…the folk that live in villas and suburbs’ From The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) 54 Rupert Brooke, ‘The Old Vicarage, Grantchester’ From 1914 and Other Poems (1915) 55 Daphne du Maurier, ‘Losing Manderley’ From Rebecca (1938) 56 James Laver, ‘Homes and Habits’ From The Character of England (1947) 57 Lord Kennett, ‘Muddleford’ From The Character of England (1947) 58 Osbert Lancaster, ‘English is the only language that has a word for “home”’ From Progress at Pelvis Bay (1936) 59 Dr Stephen Taylor, ‘The Suburban Neurosis’ From the Lancet (1938) URBAN ENGLANDS: THE MIDLANDS AND THE NORTH 60 Anonymous, Correspondence on housing estates From the Birmingham Mail (1931) 61 J.B. Priestley, ‘Rusty Lane, West Bromwich’ From English Journey (1934) 62 D.H. Lawrence, ‘Nottingham and the Mining Country’ From the New Adelphi (1930) 63 H.V. Morton, ‘What I Saw in the Slums’ From Labour Party pamphlet (1933) 64 H.V. Morton, ‘Wigan’ From In Search of England (1927)

`... provides a strong and clear image of the ideas of englishness ...' - D Deletant, London Univ