British Conservatism

Sir Brian Harrison OXFORD UNIVERSITY

Anyone interested in the history of the 1960s will be puzzled at the variety, prosperity and resourcefulness of the history subsequently written about British Conservatism since 1945. This development is the more surprising, given the leftish sympathies of British arts and humanities university teachers since the early 1960s and Labour history’s ongoing inspirational impact on the left.  A multi-layered explanation—archival, social, political, institutional, and commercial – illuminates the surprising ways in which historical study advances.

Sir Brian Harrison has been based in Oxford for half a century.  His most famous book is perhaps Drink and the Victorians (1971).  He has recently completed a two-part work, Seeking a Role: The United Kingdom 1951–1970.  He received his Knighthood as a distinguished historian and for his service in helping to publish the new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.