4 Expert opinion and public pressure
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Christian K. Melby
Abstract
With developments in publishing and the rise of a mass press, from the 1890s invasion-scare texts entered a mass market. Authors like William Le Queux and later Erskine Childers wrote stories for a wide readership where Britain’s existing defence apparatus are criticised and where average Britons took centre stage as heroes and defenders of British freedom. In the same period the rise of large pressure groups such as the Navy League and the National Service League attempted to mobilise public opinion and influence British defence policy. The chapter argues that as invasion-literature could claim a large readership, the stories’ political influence remained limited.
Abstract
With developments in publishing and the rise of a mass press, from the 1890s invasion-scare texts entered a mass market. Authors like William Le Queux and later Erskine Childers wrote stories for a wide readership where Britain’s existing defence apparatus are criticised and where average Britons took centre stage as heroes and defenders of British freedom. In the same period the rise of large pressure groups such as the Navy League and the National Service League attempted to mobilise public opinion and influence British defence policy. The chapter argues that as invasion-literature could claim a large readership, the stories’ political influence remained limited.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- Abbreviations x
- Note on spelling xi
- Acknowledgements xii
- Introduction 1
- I Beginnings 19
- 1 The Battles of Dorking 21
- II Expertise, public opinion and invasion-scare fiction, 1870s to 1914 53
- 2 After Dorking 55
- 3 Public appeals and fiction, c. 1880–1894 83
- 4 Expert opinion and public pressure 117
- III Authors and readers 151
- 5 Fiction and society 153
- 6 Readers and receptions 189
- IV Fiction goes to war 229
- 7 Invasion-scare literature and the First World War 231
- Conclusion 263
- Bibliography 274
- Index 310
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures ix
- Abbreviations x
- Note on spelling xi
- Acknowledgements xii
- Introduction 1
- I Beginnings 19
- 1 The Battles of Dorking 21
- II Expertise, public opinion and invasion-scare fiction, 1870s to 1914 53
- 2 After Dorking 55
- 3 Public appeals and fiction, c. 1880–1894 83
- 4 Expert opinion and public pressure 117
- III Authors and readers 151
- 5 Fiction and society 153
- 6 Readers and receptions 189
- IV Fiction goes to war 229
- 7 Invasion-scare literature and the First World War 231
- Conclusion 263
- Bibliography 274
- Index 310
