External threats mask internal fears : Edwardian invasion literature 1899-1914
Invasion literature is a branch of fiction that enjoyed significant popularity in Britain prior to the First World War. Focusing on invasion narratives of the Edwardian period, this thesis foregrounds the literatureâs representation of domestic political issues. These include debates over national identity, the campaign for compulsory military service, and the sociopolitical upheavals of the late-Edwardian period. Through emphasising the importance of these internal themes, the thesis argues that such narratives were vehicles for multifaceted critiques of British society rather than one-dimensional predictions of invasion. Exploring the ideological origins of these narratives, the thesis questions the dominant understanding that invasion literature was a Tory product. The genre is instead interpreted as a product of the British âRadical Rightâ. Presenting invasion literature as a repository of varied contemporary anxieties, the thesis reconsiders the analytical value of the âEdwardian Crisisâ, arguing that narratives of invasion illustrate a pronounced sense of approaching crisis. This thesis therefore offers an original contribution to modern British political and cultural history, and invasion
Wood, Harry
External threats mask internal fears : Edwardian invasion literature 1899-1914. Invasion literature is a branch of fiction that enjoyed significant popularity in Britain prior to the First World War. Focusing on invasion narratives of the Edwardian period, this thesis foregrounds the literatureâs representation of domestic political issues. These include debates over national identity, the campaign for compulsory military service, and the sociopolitical upheavals of the late-Edwardian period. Through emphasising the importance of these internal themes, the thesis argues that such narratives were vehicles for multifaceted critiques of British society rather than one-dimensional predictions of invasion. Exploring the ideological origins of these narratives, the thesis questions the dominant understanding that invasion literature was a Tory product. The genre is instead interpreted as a product of the British âRadical Rightâ. Presenting invasion literature as a repository of varied contemporary anxieties, the thesis reconsiders the analytical value of the âEdwardian Crisisâ, arguing that narratives of invasion illustrate a pronounced sense of approaching crisis. This thesis therefore offers an original contribution to modern British political and cultural history, and invasion
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