{"product_id":"island-stories-raphael-samuel-9781859841907","title":"Island Stories: Unraveling Britain","description":"A luminous sequel to the highly acclaimed first volume of \u003ci\u003eTheatres of Memory, \u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eIsland Stories\u003c\/i\u003e is an engrossing journey of discovery into the multiple meanings of national myths, their anchorage in daily life and their common sense of a people's destiny. Raphael Samuel reveals the palimpsest of British national histories, offering a searching yet affectionate account of the heroes and villains, legends and foibles, cherished by the \"four nations\" that inhabit the British Isles. Samuel is interested by the fact that traditions can disappear no less abruptly than they were invented. How is it, he asks, that the Scots have lost interest in a British narrative of which they were once a central protagonist? Why is the celebration of \"Britons\" thriving today just as its object has become problematic? \u003ci\u003eIsland Stories\u003c\/i\u003e marvelously conveys the mutability of national conceits. Samuel calls as witness a galaxy of authorities--Bede and Gerald of Barri, Macaulay and Stubbs, Shakespeare and Dickens, Lord Reith and Raymond Williams, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Benn--each of whom sought to renew the sense of national identity by means of an acute sense of the past.\u003ci\u003e Island Stories\u003c\/i\u003e is a luminous study of the way nations use their past to lend meaning to the present and future. This sequel to the widely acclaimed \u003ci\u003eTheatres of Memory\u003c\/i\u003e is as passionate, unexpected and enjoyable as its predecessor.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Raphael Samuel\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1859841902\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781859841907\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Verso\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/01\/1999\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 416\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.72lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.20h x 6.16w x 1.06d","brand":"Raphael Samuel","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44173164052735,"sku":"9781859841907","price":44.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_f98fac21-5732-4863-81d0-b4493e41c926.jpg?v=1689791342","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/island-stories-raphael-samuel-9781859841907","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}