THE SHADOW OF A NATION: The Changing Face of Britain Book

Nick Clarke writes: ?Something dramatic ? some would say traumatic ? has happened to British society in the 50 years since the Coronation. We may have avoided world war, but almost all the certainties of Coronation year (1953) have been dispersed. Where did they go? Should we regret their loss? Or have the decades of economic growth been matched by a parallel improvement in our lives that makes both questions irrelevant?? Clarke?s approach is what he calls ?slivers of history?,a chronicle of change marked out in the experiences of a few notable men and women, as well as critical perceptions of their lives and works. His final list of eminent Elizabethans is still being finalised. His preliminary list (his model, Lytton Strachey, he points out, originally had twelve, before cutting these to four) includes Elizabeth David and Delia Smith (representing the extraordinary transformation in our consumer habits since 1953), David Frost (the media), Arthur Scargill (the unions), Maurice Saatchi (advertising); and for royalty (Princess Margaret) Ian Rankin and P.D.James (the phenomenon of crime as fiction). Unlike Strachey who used only written sources, Clarke, best known as the presenter of R4's 'World at One' has also been conducting interviews with his subjects' friends and foes.Read More