ABSTRACT
Our book has reached its end. In it we have tried, scrupulously and, we hope, fairly, to evoke the multifold movements of a society over a century and a quarter. At the same time we have sought to outline a general picture – the evolution of England herself in the course of these 125 years. It was certainly a period full of every kind of change, not to mention reversals of fortune. Now that we have reached the limits of what can be seen, what conclusions can we draw? At first sight the British people of 1975 seem very different from the insular folk of 1851. But after all can we be so certain that change has ousted permanence, that the new has triumphed over the old, and innovation over tradition? We propose to end by disentangling from the vicissitudes of successive phases certain major trends which have influenced the historic march of English society – always being aware, of course, of the inevitably summary character of such a general approach.
