Welsh Journals

Search over 450 titles and 1.2 million pages

portrayal of the historical background to the care of the poor, it is equally welcome. Despite Dr. Grant's disclaimer, the story deserves to be continued after 1834. A. MOR-O'BRIEN Pontypridd THE DIVIDED KINGDOM. By John Osmond. Constable, 1988. Pp. 256. £ 12.95 hardback; £ 6.95 paper. One clear image of British identity remains a Polaris submarine sailing down the Clyde towards the open sea: Her Britannic Majesty's navy still ruling the waves. This is a book about identity, and in particular, as befits a book written in parallel with the making of a television series, images of identity. It shows convincingly how the arguments of the 1970s about nationalism and devolution survived their double defeat in the referendum and general election of 1979, and have moved on to inquire into, and indeed to challenge, the nature of the Union, and the place of England within it. John Osmond is particularly good on England. 'Are Sunderland and Surrey both English?' he asks. 'Are the English also British?' He seeks answers to these questions, for example in a Durham museum, representing a mining town in 1926, but without a mention of the general strike-depoliticized, he says, like television's Coronation Street. In the London Financial Futures Exchange he found an image of capitalism in action (fortunately, since the Stock Exchange itself makes poor television) based, he argues, in the Home Counties and backed by Oxbridge. Osmond has much to say about the monarchy, and in particular its traditional but curious relationship with the military. British nationalism is carried by military, and particularly naval, prowess legitimated by royal authority. He notes that the Defence budget is in effect an unacknowledged regional policy. In this quest for England, Osmond instances Cheltenham, home of GCHQ, with all that now represents, but also of a glossy magazine called This England, from which he quotes an editorial: We English are indeed a curious breed and quite adept at concealing our deep love of country and culture from others. Patriotism is somewhat embarrassing and never talked about, except with polite disinterest This vision of England has been reinforced by Mrs. Thatcher, who, he reminds us, quoted extensively, and unctuously, from Noel Coward's Cavalcade on the eve of her first election victory. All this makes sense, seems to fit the evidence, such as it is, and is entirely plausible, without being quite convincing. England remains elusive, endlessly