National Character and Public Spirit in Britain and France 1750-1914

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.