Don’t mention the war! Alwyn Turner is our finest cultural and social historian. His focus is typically on the lived experience of the people, rather than the Sunday papers’ idea of culture or the minutiae of the Westminster Village. He once argued with us that Middle of the Road were a culturally more significant band than Pink Floyd. And he can make the case. Two years ago Alwyn published Little Englanders – a dazzling account of the Edwardian era. A Shellshocked Nation is a companion to that book. Alwyn picks up in the strange and rather sad period between the horror of the Great War and the apocalypse of the … Continue reading →