'A clear, lucid, authoritative survey of political history, social policy, and the persistent divisions cleaving twentieth-century Britain. Thane provides an especially incisive picture of the effects of shifting national policies on gender and class, demonstrating how the retrenchments of the Thatcher era recreated fissures not so very different from those in the first decades of the twentieth century. This highly readable and accessible text is a perfect companion for classes in twentieth-century Britain.' Judith R. Walkowitz, Professor Emerita of History, The John Hopkins University
'Pat Thane has written an enlightening history of modern Britain that is at once an admirable textbook and a thoroughly good read. Her account throws as much light upon the changing social structure as upon political developments, all with a firm grasp of up-to-date research.' Peter Clarke, Professor Emeritus of Modern British History, University of Cambridge
'In order to understand the present, we need to know the past. Pat Thane is an eloquent guide to the history of a divided 'United Kingdom'. As one of Britain's most distinguished historians, Thane has a forensic eye for the unpredictable fault lines in British history and politics.' Joanna Bourke, Birkbeck, University of London
'Pat Thane is a distinguished historian of modern Britain who has written incisively on the welfare state, on old age and pensions, and on women. In Divided Kingdom, she surveys the history of twentieth-century Britain more broadly, but with insights gained from her more specialized studies. This allows her to ask different questions and give different answers to a host of problems. The result is a major contribution that links the present with the past in a powerful way.' James Cronin, Boston College, Massachusetts
'Divided Kingdom is an accessible, engrossing textbook. Thane deftly covers enormous ground, offering the reader both an authoritative survey of modern British history and important insights into its social dimensions especially ... Divided Kingdom will find a welcome audience among undergraduates, for whom it will be an invaluable companion. Each chapter contains a number of sections, organized around easily digestible themes and moments, providing points of reference traceable back and forth through the book.' Naomi Lloyd-Jones, Hertford College, University of Oxford
