- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: W&N; Hardback edition (12 Aug 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0297859005
- ISBN-13: 978-0297859000
- Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.4 x 19.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 302,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
a splendidly pithy and provocative introduction to the culture of Romanticism (Dominic Sandbrook THE SUNDAY TIMES - 15.08.10 )
It is hard to imagine that Blanning could have done more within the 180 page span of his text... He is a master of crisp condensation. (Jonathan Bate THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH - 15.08.10 )
provocative guide to the culture of Romanticism (SUNDAY TIMES 'Must Reads' - 29.08.10 )
full of fascinating sketches and details. (DAILY TELEGRAPH - 28.08.10 )
It is hard to imagine that Blanning could have done more within the 180 page span of his text... He is a master of crisp condensation. (Jonathan Bate THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH - 15.08.10 )
provocative guide to the culture of Romanticism (SUNDAY TIMES 'Must Reads' - 29.08.10 )
full of fascinating sketches and details. (DAILY TELEGRAPH - 28.08.10 )
Book Description
A brilliant synoptic account of how the Romantic Movement for ever changed the way we see things and express ourselves.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A while ago I read Blanning's The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648-1815 (Penguin History of Europe) and was completely bowled over by the learning and originality, all of it delivered in a seemingly effortless style and manner. This book, though on a completely different subject matter, is certainly no less an achievement. In the short span of just 186 pages (not counting the notes, list for further reading and index) Blanning masterly summarizes this most fascinating of subjects: Romanticism.
In the introduction Blanning argues that, besides the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, the Romantic Revolution was as (if not more) important, and just as radical and far-reaching. He then sets out to prove his point in a very logical framework. Chapter I ('the crisis of the age of reason') deals with the beginnings of romanticism, the radical shift it caused from a mimetic to an expressive aesthetic, how it led to the cult of the artist genius (which is still very much alive today), and these same artists' dual relation with their public.
In chapter II ('the dark side of the moon') he covers the romantics' fascination with all aspects of the human experience so alien to the Enlightenment: dreams and nightmares, madness, the 'wonder-world of the night'. In chapter III ('language, history and myth') he turns his attention to how romanticism sparked a renewed interest in (national) history, folk tales and folk lore, and how each nation searched (and found, if necessary using forgeries) their own 'golden age, often set in medieval times. Finally, in the conclusion Blanning demonstrates how romanticism never really died (although with the advent of Realism such seemed the case) but re-emerged, transfigured, in e.g. symbolism and even post-modernism (which, just as romanticism, 'squarely belongs with the culture of feeling').
Add to this that Blanning's text abounds with a whole host of examples and quotes, ranges across all arts and most of Europe (though concentrating on England, France and Germany), is written in crystal-clear language, and the end result is the definitive introduction to Romanticism. This is certainly not the largest, most detailed survey of Romanticism, but as an introduction to the subject I find it very hard to imagine how this book could be bettered.
In the introduction Blanning argues that, besides the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, the Romantic Revolution was as (if not more) important, and just as radical and far-reaching. He then sets out to prove his point in a very logical framework. Chapter I ('the crisis of the age of reason') deals with the beginnings of romanticism, the radical shift it caused from a mimetic to an expressive aesthetic, how it led to the cult of the artist genius (which is still very much alive today), and these same artists' dual relation with their public.
In chapter II ('the dark side of the moon') he covers the romantics' fascination with all aspects of the human experience so alien to the Enlightenment: dreams and nightmares, madness, the 'wonder-world of the night'. In chapter III ('language, history and myth') he turns his attention to how romanticism sparked a renewed interest in (national) history, folk tales and folk lore, and how each nation searched (and found, if necessary using forgeries) their own 'golden age, often set in medieval times. Finally, in the conclusion Blanning demonstrates how romanticism never really died (although with the advent of Realism such seemed the case) but re-emerged, transfigured, in e.g. symbolism and even post-modernism (which, just as romanticism, 'squarely belongs with the culture of feeling').
Add to this that Blanning's text abounds with a whole host of examples and quotes, ranges across all arts and most of Europe (though concentrating on England, France and Germany), is written in crystal-clear language, and the end result is the definitive introduction to Romanticism. This is certainly not the largest, most detailed survey of Romanticism, but as an introduction to the subject I find it very hard to imagine how this book could be bettered.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The best thing about this book is its length. For a history book by a professional historian, it is laudably short. The book gets its points across clearly and with precision. As something to dip into for the desperate, essay writing sixth former or undergraduate looking for an idea or quote, it would be hard to better.
For those looking for a more comprehensive purview of the romantic movement and its effect on society, it leaves a lot to be desired. There seems to be a whole chapter missing - the one that deals with romantic theories of science. These had a powerful influence on the biological sciences in particular.
The chapter on the romantics' interest in language, history and myth is the high point of the book. This is taken forward into the complex, almost incomprehensible positioning of the romantics in contemporary politics - a sort of reactionary liberalism, loosely tied to an idealised pastoral volk and terrified of the urban mob.
The influence of the romantics on contemporary political thinking and on social policies is not covered; it is treated as an almost exclusively artistic movement. Again romantic thinking on what constituted a "people" revolutionised concepts of nationhood, which had reverberations beyond the nineteenth century into the twentieth.
The book ends with the classical-romantic "dialectic" continuing all the way up to the present day. This further confuses the definition of the word "romantic". To support the book's arguments, quotes seem to be selected at random across the period 1760-1880. I could have used a little more rigour around the definition of the term, but perhaps that deserves a (longer) book by itself.
For those looking for a more comprehensive purview of the romantic movement and its effect on society, it leaves a lot to be desired. There seems to be a whole chapter missing - the one that deals with romantic theories of science. These had a powerful influence on the biological sciences in particular.
The chapter on the romantics' interest in language, history and myth is the high point of the book. This is taken forward into the complex, almost incomprehensible positioning of the romantics in contemporary politics - a sort of reactionary liberalism, loosely tied to an idealised pastoral volk and terrified of the urban mob.
The influence of the romantics on contemporary political thinking and on social policies is not covered; it is treated as an almost exclusively artistic movement. Again romantic thinking on what constituted a "people" revolutionised concepts of nationhood, which had reverberations beyond the nineteenth century into the twentieth.
The book ends with the classical-romantic "dialectic" continuing all the way up to the present day. This further confuses the definition of the word "romantic". To support the book's arguments, quotes seem to be selected at random across the period 1760-1880. I could have used a little more rigour around the definition of the term, but perhaps that deserves a (longer) book by itself.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The author sets out the basic tension between Classicism and Romanticism clearly. He shows the period's on-going influence on our ideas of and reactions to art and artists. Many of the people and their works have passed into obscurity, so understanding their influence is very valuable. The Romantics were difficult and self-indulgent by turns, but they managed to make virtues of both. We need to know this era to understand our own art and artists.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Enter the romantic spirit
This book is a very enjoyable read for anyone with an appreciation of romanticism.
The book's general thesis is that it is from romanticism that "almost all the cultural... Read more
The book's general thesis is that it is from romanticism that "almost all the cultural... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Owen McGee
An excellent introduction
There are several good short introductions to Romanticism (by J.L.Talmon, H.G.Schenk and Rupert Christiansen - to name only the ones on my shelves), but now this excellent short... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Ralph Blumenau
Brodsky
If God existed and he, she or it wrote history, it would look like this. Amongst Blanning's divine characteristics this reviewer noted; the lyrical buoyancy of his prose, total... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Brodsky
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