This study offers a radical reassessment of a crucial period of political and cultural history. By looking at some 400 songs, many of which are made available to hear, and at their writers, singers, and audiences, it questions both our relationship with song, and ordinary Britons' relationship with Napoleon, the war, and the idea of Britain itself.

Napoleon and British Song, 17971822 is an excellent study that brings fresh insights to our understanding of both the political and cultural histories of this period. It demonstrates that a nuanced reading of the era's popular song is highly rewarding, and its critical approach should serve as a model for scholars working with any ephemera of any kind. (Erica Buurman, The BARS Review, Issue 48, Autumn, 2016)

Autorentext

Oskar Cox Jensen is Research Fellow in the Department of Music, King's College London, UK. He is currently co-editing a volume of essays on the world of Charles Dibdin the Elder and preparing a second monograph on London Ballad Singers.

Inhalt

Introduction

1. 'A Hacknied Tune'? Song Culture in Napoleonic Britain
2. 'Threats of the ': Contesting the Nation, 1797-1805
3. 'That the War Might Cease': Awaiting and Making News, 1806-13
   4.'Now Boney's Awa'': Triumph, Tragedy, and the Legend Established, 1814-22
4. 'Canny Newcassel': A Case Study, 1797-1822
   Coda