Review

"The content of the book is dense and detailed...a significant contribution..." American Historical Review

"Romani explores the longevity and relative constancy of stereotypical views of "national character" and their influence on political and economic discussions in Britain and France from the Enlightenment to the 20th century. This provocative, erudite, and well-crafted work of traditional intellectual history well interest all scholars of national identity and political theory." Choice

"The work shows a good understanding of the work of a vast number of modern theorists and an impressive array of scholarship." Philosophy in Review

Product Description

In a work of unusual ambition and rigorous comparison, Roberto Romani considers the concept of "national character" in the intellectual histories of Britain and France. Perceptions of collective mentalities influenced a variety of political and economic debates, ranging from anti-absolutist polemic in eighteenth-century France to appraisals of socialism in Edwardian Britain. Romani argues that the eighteenth-century notion of "national character", with its stress on climate and government, evolved into a concern with the virtues of "public spirit" irrespective of national traits, in parallel with the establishment of representative institutions on the Continent.