MATTHEW JEFFERIES is Lecturer in German History at the University of Manchester and Visiting Lecturer at the Northern Institute of Technology, Hamburg-Harburg.

'This book succeeds admirably in making a valuable point: that Imperial German culture was as provocative and at times contentious as its more celebrated successor, Weimar culture. Combining analysis and synthesis, Mathew Jefferies covers a range of topics, including literature, music, life reform, historical monuments, and the Expressionist movement. Whereas he focuses on high culture, he pays due attention to popular and commercial culture, and he does a marvelous job locating his subject in its social and political contexts. Scholars will find the book useful for its comprehensive bibliography and focused discussions of the literature on the Imperial period, while students will find the narrative engaging and accessible. Jefferies' book is an indispensable introduction to German cultural history before the rise of Hitler.' - Rudy Koshar, University of University of Wisconsin-Madison 'This book fills a huge and long-standing gap in the scholarly literature available for teaching the Second Reich. It has been worth the wait. The author convincingly makes the case that this is not an esoteric or peripheral field of enquiry. Culture was an essential component of middle-class identity. For bourgeois Germans, and others, too, culture was prominent -perhaps even ascendant - in developing the very idea of Germany.' - James Retallack, The University of Toronto

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsIntroductionThe Historical ContextOfficial CultureThe GründerzeitCultural Critics and Revolts'Wilhelminism' and its DiscontentsExpressionism, Nationalism and WarEndnotesBibliographyIndex.

MATTHEW JEFFERIES is Lecturer in German History at the University of Manchester and Visiting Lecturer at the Northern Institute of Technology, Hamburg-Harburg.

'This book succeeds admirably in making a valuable point: that Imperial German culture was as provocative and at times contentious as its more celebrated successor, Weimar culture. Combining analysis and synthesis, Mathew Jefferies covers a range of topics, including literature, music, life reform, historical monuments, and the Expressionist movement. Whereas he focuses on high culture, he pays due attention to popular and commercial culture, and he does a marvelous job locating his subject in its social and political contexts. Scholars will find the book useful for its comprehensive bibliography and focused discussions of the literature on the Imperial period, while students will find the narrative engaging and accessible. Jefferies' book is an indispensable introduction to German cultural history before the rise of Hitler.' - Rudy Koshar, University of University of Wisconsin-Madison 'This book fills a huge and long-standing gap in the scholarly literature available for teaching the Second Reich. It has been worth the wait. The author convincingly makes the case that this is not an esoteric or peripheral field of enquiry. Culture was an essential component of middle-class identity. For bourgeois Germans, and others, too, culture was prominent -perhaps even ascendant - in developing the very idea of Germany.' - James Retallack, The University of Toronto

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsIntroductionThe Historical ContextOfficial CultureThe GründerzeitCultural Critics and Revolts'Wilhelminism' and its DiscontentsExpressionism, Nationalism and WarEndnotesBibliographyIndex.