The age of decadence : a history of Britain: 1880 to 1914
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 827-862) and index.

"The popular memory of Britain in the years before the Great War is of a powerful, contented, orderly, and thriving country. Britain commanded a vast empire; she bestrode international commerce. Her citizens were living longer, profiting from civil liberties their grandparents only dreamed of and enjoying an expanding range of comforts and pastimes. The mood of pride and self-confidence can be seen in Edward Elgar's 'Pomp and Circumstance' marches, newsreels of George V's coronation, and London's great Edwardian palaces. Yet beneath the surface things were very different. In The Age of Decadence, Simon Heffer exposes the contradictions of late-Victorian and Edwardian Britain"--,Provided by publisher.