Best regards, Andrew Stewart
Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: February 18, 2021 at 10:54:45 AM EST > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Environment]: Moesswilde on Readman, 'Storied > Ground: Landscape and the Shaping of English National Identity' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Paul Readman. Storied Ground: Landscape and the Shaping of English > National Identity. Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 2018. > Illustrations. 348 pp. $32.99 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-108-42473-8. > > Reviewed by Emma Moesswilde (Georgetown University) > Published on H-Environment (February, 2021) > Commissioned by Daniella McCahey > > Paul Readman's _Storied Ground: Landscape and the Shaping of English > National Identity _conducts a whirlwind tour of the spaces that, he > argues, played an essential role in the crystallization of English > national identity in the long nineteenth century. An exploration of > the relationship between landscape, history, and patriotism, _Storied > Ground _considers how various English landscapes, from the Cliffs of > Dover to the cityscape of Manchester, contributed to a sense of > modern patriotism by exemplifying Englishness in both rural and urban > settings. Central to Readman's work is the concept of "associational > value"--the historical and cultural background of certain locations > that made them significant to English identity. The ability of > English landscapes to represent historical and cultural continuities > in the tumultuous period from the late eighteenth century to the > prewar early twentieth century was essential to the development of a > modern English national identity and largely contingent on the > various associational values of the landscapes that Readman explores > in _Storied Ground_. > > _Storied Ground _is divided into three parts, each considering a type > of landscape that became essential to the shaping of English national > identity over the long nineteenth century. In part 1, Readman points > out the significance of border landscapes--the Cliffs of Dover and > the Northumbrian borders--that indicated Englishness, but sometimes > also Britishness, because of their proximity to non-English spaces. > In part 2, Readman explores the development of landscape > preservation, exemplified in the Lake District and the New Forest, as > a recognition of landscapes' associational value and inherent > importance to national identity and well-being. Finally, in part 3, > Readman moves into new territory to argue that non-rural landscapes, > such as the industrial landscape of Manchester and the waters and > banks of the Thames, were equally important to the formation and > assertion of English national identity. In six chapters, Readman > covers a great deal of literal and metaphorical ground, drawing the > rich histories of these assorted landscapes together to demonstrate > their contributions to English national identity and patriotism. His > introduction and conclusion bookend these landscape studies with a > brief overview of relevant historiography on English landscape > studies, patriotism and nationalism, and modernity. At just over > three hundred pages, Readman's work is a cohesive portrait of English > landscape history, which offers a broad perspective despite its > location-based organization. Although he focuses on English > landscapes, Readman notes the complex tensions and harmonies between > English and British identities, contending that such spaces as the > Cliffs of Dover had associational values significant to Scottish, as > well as English, people who beheld them but keeps the majority of his > analysis focused on English spaces and Englishness, rather than > Britishness. > > Nineteenth-century landscape writing, travel guides and tourism > literature, and such artistic portrayals as paintings and poetry > provide the source material for Readman's work. The author draws on > the writings of Sir Walter Scott, William Wordsworth, Elizabeth > Gaskell, and other significant literary contributors to investigate > nineteenth-century perceptions of English landscape and identity. > Readman also makes use of the wealth of visual representations of > English landscapes, from paintings from the likes of J. M. W. Turner > and George Vicat Cole to images used in advertisements and tourism > literature. _Storied Ground _makes excellent use of these pictorial > sources; forty figures (albeit in black and white) embellish its > pages and bring Readman's landscapes of choice to life. Readman is > careful to consider the lives and perceptions of ordinary people's > encounters with English landscapes as well as elite portrayals of > these spaces, although the vast majority of his source material is > published, leaving me wondering about unpublished descriptions of > English landscapes from those who lived and worked on, rather than > visited, them. He makes extensive use of tourist guides intended to > welcome visitors to the New Forest, Manchester, or on a trip up the > Thames, and to portray a landscape's associational and historical > value to the nation. In so doing, Readman demonstrates the essential > Englishness of valued landscapes as aesthetically and historically > valuable to ordinary folks whose touristic access to these landscapes > corresponded with a greater national acknowledgment of their inherent > value over the long nineteenth century. > > _Storied Ground _illuminates the ways perceptions of landscapes and > the values and stories associated with them helped to shape and shore > up English national identity over the course of the nineteenth > century. The landscapes Readman analyzes were essential to the > development of patriotic Englishness by helping to articulate > borders, create a preservation ethic that imbued landscapes with > value, and affirm English modernity in urban and rural spaces while > revering their persistent historical and cultural associations. This > analysis shines particularly in the third section on Manchester and > the Thames, where Readman leaves behind the traditional focus on > rural landscapes to illustrate the significance of Manchester's > industrial landscape as a defining location of English modernity > enjoyed by tourists and artists as a sublime space worthy of renown. > Similarly, Readman's analysis of the Thames as a riparian space that > literally and figuratively wound its way through English history and > culture brings a refreshing perspective to the study of landscape > history, so often confined to solid ground. > > While the range of locations Readman explores paints an effective > picture of the various environments that contributed to the > collective English national identity which is the focus of _Storied > Ground_, I would have welcomed further consideration of the > connections between national identity, English landscapes, and > British imperial landscapes, to which Readman alludes at several > points. Although insularity, exemplified by the Cliffs of Dover and > the Northumbrian borders in Readman's argument, was and remains a > central component of Englishness, the degree to which non-English > landscapes also played a significant role in forming English national > identity over the long nineteenth century also merits further study. > > _Storied Ground _will be of interest to historians of Britain, the > environment, and nationalism and patriotism. It would also be an > asset to any syllabus on modern English or British history, and its > discussion of art, literature, and architecture's influence on > national identity makes _Storied Ground _relevant to the > environmental humanities more broadly. Balancing national and local > landscapes and histories, Readman's work offers an environmental > perspective on English national identity and its roots that considers > places, as well as people, as central to modern patriotism. In a > post-Brexit world, such a ground-up reevaluation of the roots of > English national identity and its long history is welcome and will > hopefully provoke further study of the connections between place and > patriotism. > > Citation: Emma Moesswilde. Review of Readman, Paul, _Storied Ground: > Landscape and the Shaping of English National Identity_. > H-Environment, H-Net Reviews. February, 2021. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55452 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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