In the thirty-five years since the publication of David Cannadine’s Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy (1990) the power of Britain’s landed elite declined, but they remain far from extinct. One-third of Britain’s land still belongs to the aristocracy. Moreover, partly inspired by Cannadine’s book, we now know much more about the ways in which the aristocracy established their hold on modernity, and how they have lasted so long. Many key questions remain. How much was this a distinctively British story, to what extent were things different in Scotland, Wales and Ireland? Does ‘decline and fall’ accurately describe what happened to landed elites in other countries, particularly in western Europe, or amongst assimilated elites such as Jews? Was the ‘soft’ power of the aristocracy – their role in the arts, philanthropy and higher education – as significant as their political and economic sway? How dependent on the colonies, and also the USA, were the British aristocracy for their wealth in the first place, and how did their role overseas change their profile at home? This volume brings together a wide-ranging group of scholars to explore The Decline and Fall, developing its themes in new ways, and investigating other aspects for the first time.
