Soldiering in Britain and Ireland, 1750-1850 ─ Men of Arms

The British soldier was feared and respected throughout the world in the period 1750-1850, a time when his victories helped to expand the British Empire to its greatest extent. Strangely, though, his reputation at home was rather more contradictory: the army could be politically distrusted, soldiers often occupied a marginal position in society, and even the manliness of the profession could be called into question.

Men of Arms explores the intriguing figure of the British soldier, and seeks to explore "soldiering" as an activity, an identity, a career and a way of life. Chapters explore the role of social class, political radicalism and national identities, and think about soldiers as combatants, as tourists, as family men and as citizens. In so doing, the book offers fresh approaches to the study of warfare in this fascinating period of history.

CATRIONA KENNEDY is a lecturer in modern British and Irish history at the University of York. Her book Narratives of War: Military and civilian experience in Britain and Ireland, 1793-1815 is forthcoming from Palgrave Macmillan




MATTHEW MCCORMACK is senior lecturer in History at the University of Northampton. His publications include The Independent Man: Citizenship and Gender Politics in Georgian Britain and, as editor, Public Men: Masculinity and Politics in Modern Britain.