Alexander Grant (University of Lancaster, UK) (Edited by) ,  K J Stringer (Edited by)

'A stimulating collection of essays.' - Nothern History`A fascinating, provocative and very timely book, Uniting the Kingdom? raises questions which are of relevance to us all, even if the answers implied may not be entirely to anybody's liking.' - The Scotsman`Excellent collection of essays.' - Alain de Botton, Independent on Sunday

• Part I Prologue 1 Introduction: The enigma of British History 2 British History as a ‘new subject’: Politics, perspectives and prospects Part II Medieval foundations 3 The United Kingdom of England: The Anglo-Saxon achievement 4 Foundations of a disunited kingdom 5 Overlordship and reaction, c. 1200–c. 1450 6 Scottish foundations: Thirteenth-century perspectives Late medieval contributions Part III Building the early modern state 7 The High Road from Scotland: Stewarts and Tudors in the mid-sixteenth century, One king, two kingdoms, 8 Composite monarchies in early modern Europe: The British and Irish example 9 Irish, Scottish and Welsh responses to centralisation, c. 1530–c. 1640: A comparative perspective 10 Three kingdoms and one commonwealth? The enigma of mid-seventeenth-century Britain and Ireland Part IV The age of Union 11 Varieties of Britishness: Ireland, Scotland and Wales in the Hanoverian state 12 A nation defined by Empire, 1755–1776 13 Englishness and Britishness: National identities, c. 1790–c. 1870 14 An imperial and multinational polity: The ‘scene from the centre’, 1832–1922 15 Letting go: The Conservative Party and the end of the Union with Ireland Part V Epilogue 16 How united is the modern United Kingdom? 17 Conclusion: Contingency, identity, sovereignty