Rule Nostalgia: A Backwards History of Britain by Hannah Rose Woods

Ah, the good old days. A time when the summers lasted forever and everyone looked out for each other. But try telling the kids of today that.

This book looks at the concept of nostalgia, particularly for those of us living in England. The starting point is during the lockdown of the pandemic, when the Black Lives Matter movement toppled statues of the perceived great men of yesteryear and questioned all that was good with British history. But nostalgia has always existed, as Woods points out, not just from our grandparents and the 'Blitz spirit' but William Blakes' calling out against the 'dark satanic mills' the Industrial Revolution brought in to replace the green countryside, or folk reminiscing about 'Merry England' before the Reformation spoiled everything, and the Victorians erecting statues of the Medieval Richard the Lionheart.

Interesting that Woods argues that this nostalgia is more a English 'affliction' than a Welsh or Scottish one, especially considering that my Scottish grandmother was always bemoaning that things weren't as good as in the 1920s. But hey, she explains that concept very well and good for her as it's not something I have considered before. Is nostalgia really about expanding and defending the Empire? Or merely another form of control?

At a time when the world closed down due to the pandemic, I remembered fondly those days when we were free to go where we wanted, go abroad instead of staying home doing our bit for the Covid effort. There were comparisons to the World Wars, the Home Front, stiff-upper lip, the Blitz, Keep Calm and Carry On. The book compares modern issues such as the pandemic, Brexit and the politicians rhetoric to the English psyche. All discussed in this book with plenty more to think about. 

This is a fascinating book, well researched and laid out with a highly original theory. Accessible to everyone, extremely well written and an absolutely brilliant idea that will strike a chord with all of us.​ 

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Published by Virgin Digital on 26 May 2022.
​Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.

Pastoral Ideal: Villages and Estates ​