Entitled: A Critical History Of The British Aristocracy

Description

A polemical history of the British ruling class and how they ended up owning our nation. The full and sometimes shocking story of the aristocracy in England, Scotland and Ireland, from Anglo-Saxon times until the present day. Exploring the political significance of the peerage in the House of Lords as well as its members' social and cultural lives, Entitled seeks to explain how the noble families of Britain and Ireland came to achieve such dominance in the first place and reveals the often nefarious means they have employed to maintain their power. It examines the ambition, jealousy and rivalry which drove local barons to compete with one another and aristocratic families to guard their inheritance with determined and sometimes violent ferocity. In telling their history, it introduces a cast of extraordinary characters: the warriors and the snobs, the dandies, the rakes and the eccentrics, the radicals and the downright criminals. Meticulously researched and engagingly written, Entitled tells a riveting story of arrogance, corruption and greed, the defining characteristics of the British ruling class.

Author description

CHRIS BRYANT is a British Labour Party Politician who has been Member of Parliament since 2001. He was Minister for Europe in the last Labour Government and Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons in the Shadow Cabinet. Before entering parliament Chris was a priest in the Church of England. His previous books include biographies of Sir Stafford Cripps and Glenda Jackson as well as, most recently, his two-volume Parliament: a Biography.