The Age of Decadence

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"The folk memory of Britain in the years before the Great War is of a powerful, contented, orderly and thriving country. It commanded a vast empire. It bestrode international commerce. Yet things were very different beneath the surface. Torn apart by strikes, class wars and political and national unrest, pre-war Britain was on the brink of anarchy. In 'The Age of Decadence, ' Simon Heffer lights up the era through vivid pen-portraits of the great men and women of the day -- including Gladstone, Parnell, Asquith and Churchill, but also Mrs Pankhurst, Beatrice Webb, Baden-Powell, Wilde and Shaw -- creating a richly detailed panorama of a great power that, through both accident and arrogance, was forced to face potentially fatal challenges."-- From the rear cover