A Patriot Press

This is a meticulous and scholarly study of the polemical press of the 1740s, and the first substantial investigation of the politics of the Pelham regime for a generation. Robert Harris examines the vigorous and wide-ranging debate in tracts and periodicals about the principal issues of the day--the fall of Walpole, the influence of Hanover, the Forty-Five, and the War of the Austrian Succession. Dr Harris's detailed analysis of the confusing and fragmented politics of the 1740s sheds important light on patterns of change and continuity in the political culture of mid-eighteenth-century English politics. A Patriot Press makes an important contribution to our understanding of political ideology and party strife in the eighteenth century, as well as to our knowledge of the workings of the press.

"This book enriches our understanding of the language of mid-eighteenth-century patriotism...Robert Harris opens a window on the relationship between foreign developments and English politics."--American Historical Review
"This review can only hint at the wealth of evidence Harris has assembled. His scholarship compels respect; his well-argued conclusions are certain to inspire further work on the 1740s, and his engaging and straightforward style make the book a pleasure to read."--The Historian
"All students of eighteenth-century politics will learn from his work."--Albion
."..This is a carefully detailed and valuable account of the political history of the period as it revealed itself in a forum..."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History