Nostalgia isn't what it used to be...

Yearning for bygone days with rose-tinted glasses is nothing new, and this excellent book does a brilliant job of pulling together the waxing and waning strands of nostalgia running through British history and examining our changing perceptions

Starting with current times and Brexit, we explore how nostalgia influences individual behaviour and its profound effect on government policy across 500 years

There has been an awful lot of nostalgia for the ‘good old days’, which seemed to culminate with Brexit. This book returns to those old days, looking at whether they were as wonderful as painted (spoiler, they’re not).

It is very dry and, to be honest, I cannot believe someone had to write a book about something that I thought everyone knew. What is remembered as a simple time turns out to be filled with inequality and disease. To be fair, this theme keeps repeating through the ages, up to modern day Britain.

I found the book to be repetitive and longer than it needed to be, the same points seemed to be made throughout the book. This is why it took me so long - I needed to read a chapter and then have a long break, otherwise there was too much deja vu.

Thank you to Netgalley, the.publisher and author for a free copy of this ebook in return for a review.

The author’s scope for this book is enormous and that is fascinating for a historian. To be able to explore such a wide sweep of history seems somewhat dangerous but she does have one particular focus and that is pitched perfectly.

As both an English teacher and a history graduate it has always fascinated me that in many of Shakespeare’s plays he notes that everyone looks back to their childhood with rose tinted glasses. One of the beauties of Shakespeare is how his observations are so universal that they still work all these centuries later but this one has always intrigued me. I remember getting into an argument with a woman on the internet who told me how idyllic the 50s were and no woman had to go to work, and when I pointed out that that just wasn’t true I was dismissed because I hadn’t lived through that time period so how could I know? This is the idea that the writer is trying to tackle - how false our understanding is that somehow the past was much better than now. And I think that is an immensely important thing to address.

So she literally starts in the 2020s and explores how politicians, the media and the people view the past and she charts this nostalgia for all things gone all the way back to Tudor times. And finds that every generation looks back to see the past as better than the present, just as Shakespeare warned all those years ago.

One of her observations that I really appreciated and made me rethink is the idea of 2012. For me, I felt that the London Olympics really were the height of national pride and togetherness that was destroyed four years later by Brexit, but as she points out even that is nostalgia now and not really true. That at the time not everyone was looking on and thinking how amazing the British were - especially not the British themselves. For those of us who remember that summer fondly - me a sport hater who actually was swayed by all the pageantry - it does us good to re-access this simplistic point of view.

I think this book should be compulsory reading for everyone in government and schools. I think the concepts in this book should be discussed widely and as a nation we should be aware of how false our memories are. Aware that our national narratives are exactly that, narratives and we need to take our own memories with a pinch of salt.

But I’d also like someone to explain why it is we do this. Where does this slightly delusional understanding of our past come from and what are its benefits. For something so deeply human, so universal across the ages and the world, there must be some kind of psychological reason for why we need to believe in what is sometimes patently ridiculous.

Brilliant book, I’m so glad I read it and so glad it opened my mind. Totally recommended.

I wasn’t sure what I would think of this as I have a complicated relationship with my birth nation, leaning perhaps more critically than positively- I was worried that I might be committing myself to a few hours in the company of people who write the comments under Daily Mail articles bemoaning the loss of Empire and a descent in ‘wokeism’…
However, I found this a fascinating read with a mature and balanced discussion to be had within its pages.

This book was fascinating and eye-opening. And incredibly relevant, particularly in post-Brexit Britain. Thank you for the ARC!

Over the last decade, it has been impossible to escape imagery of the Second World War in British culture, politics, and identity. From ‘blitz spirit’ to ‘keep calm and carry on’, it’s become a powerful part of how we see ourselves as a nation during hard times. In this book, Hannah Rose Woods proves that this is not just a modern phenomenon. For centuries, the British have been looking back to an earlier era for inspiration and a sense of national identity.

It’s a really interesting approach to a history book, starting in the modern day and working backwards. By looking at each preceding era in turn, Woods shows a more complete picture of the eras we have been nostalgic for. It’s a fascinating read, fleshing out the romanticised images we have of the past. She also thoroughly debunks the idea that in doing so she might be ‘rewriting history’, as many historians were accused of during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. She doesn’t shy away from the realities of the past, proving that often nostalgia is just that.

It was also really interesting to see some of the themes that kept occurring. While I think perhaps more could have been done to explore some of them (such as pastoralism and Euro-scepticism) it was nice as a reader to spot them, and some themes – specifically imperialism – were tied together really well through the different chapters.

While this is best described as a history book, I don’t think it provided a lot of new information about British history. What it did provide, though, is a new lens and angle to look at it from, and a much-needed deep dive into how our national identity has been constructed.

I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.

Interesting premise, examining history in reverse to see that when we think the previous generation was better, they themselves were looking back and thinking the same thing, like nostalgia dominos.

Unfortunately I think I was hoping for something a little more along the lines of Bill Bryson and Greg Jenner, who write in an accessible way for the everyman. This book was more academic/scholarly and so a little dry and hard work for me personally.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

An absolutely fascinating book about the role of history within history. We look to the past with nostalgia because it is a fixed quantity and nothing more can go wrong with it. In that respect it’s ‘safe’ and we don’t consider that the people we are looking back to were also doing the same thing. History is not fixed but is rewritten in each era and in that respect its relationship with the present, the only lens we can view it through, is indissoluble. A great book written in an engaging way.

Ah, the good old days. A time when the summers lasted forever and everyone looked out for each other. But try telling the kids of today that.

This book looks at the concept of nostalgia, particularly for those of us living in England. The starting point is during the lockdown of the pandemic, when the Black Lives Matter movement toppled statues of the perceived great men of yesteryear and questioned all that was good with British history. But nostalgia has always existed, as Woods points out, not just from our grandparents and the 'Blitz spirit' but William Blakes' calling our against the 'dark satanic mills' the Industrial Revolution brought in to replace the green countryside, or folk reminiscing about 'Merry England' before the Reformation spoiled everything and the Victorians erecting statues of the Medieval Richard the Lionheart.

Interesting that Woods argues that this nostalgia is more a English 'affliction' than a Welsh or Scottish one, especially considering that my Scottish grandmother was always bemoaning that things weren't as good as in the 1920s. But hey, she explains that concept very well and good for her as it's not something I have considered before. Is nostalgia really about expanding and defending the Empire? Or merely another form of control?

At a time when the world closed down due to the pandemic, I remembered fondly those days when we were free to go where we wanted, go abroad instead of staying home doing our bit for the Covid effort. There were comparisons to the World Wars, the Home Front, stiff-upper lip, the Blitz, Keep Calm and Carry On. The book compares modern issues such as the pandemic, Brexit and the politicians rhetoric to the English psyche. All discussed in this book with plenty more to think about.

This is a fascinating book, well researched and laid out with a highly original idea. Accessible to everyone, extremely well written and an absolutely brilliant idea that will strike a chord with all of us.

This is a very clever way of looking at recent history and past history through a different lens. Ms Woods looks at how we use "nostalgia" as a concept and almost as a weapon. She takes Brexit, statues being demolished and other such "Britishness" and contrasts them with Tudor times and through the years to show nothing is new but also we don’t really want to go back to "the good old days". Boris Johnson often harks back, Margaret Thatcher harked back but the past isn’t quite the country they conjured up.

I had been unaware of the true sense of desecration during the Reformation. The extent to which the establishment needed to crush the beautiful things in monasteries and Cathedrals etc.,

"Other accounts described Harley as ordering a church cross not only to be removed but ‘beaten in pieces, even to dust’ with a sledgehammer, and then sprinkled over the footpath to be ‘trodden on in the churchyard’, forcing the congregation to profane it still further as they filed in to worship."

"But our innate and very human tendency to rose-tint the past is something that we need to handle extremely carefully; something we need to balance against reminding ourselves of the messiness of reality; that the stories we tell about the past are not the same thing as the past as it was lived at the time."

Ms Woods describes nostalgia as "forever yearning for impossible satisfaction." This neatly sums up why we all do the rosy look back. But when you consider genuine history, the propaganda (or indeed nonsense) becomes much clearer. The book really gets you thinking and while the author does not say we shouldn’t be nostalgic, she does say we need to be aware while we’re doing it.

" ‘In the past,’ quipped the German comedian and philosopher of the absurd Karl Valentin in the 1920’s, ‘even the future is better.’ "

This is an excellent, entertaining, and very thought provoking book.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley

When I was a child, summers were always golden. Just don’t get me started on the youth of today!

I enjoyed Hannah Rose Woods examination of ‘The Golden Past’ and an historical back, back, further back, in this island’s history, showing that every generation looks back to (obviously mythical and mis-remembered) past Arcadias.

What was missing for me was the fact that I’m not convinced this is a purely BRITISH failure. Rather, Nostalgia is written into us as a species, and I rather suspect that one could take the history of any nation – or, one small correction – any nation which has had an empire, and been, once the powerful nation of history – and one would find this.

And I believe that nostalgia connects to our personal lives. Childhood, after all (if we are the fortunate ones) is a time when we have few responsibilities. Life stretches out, full of possibilities in our imaginations, and it’s a time of idealistic dreaming, and, perhaps a sense that whatever we imagine or desire, might come to fruition for us. As we get older, we begin to look back on our disappointments, what we didn’t achieve. That illusion and nostalgia is seen in every generation, where the more elderly see that the behaviour of the young is going to some kind of rack and ruin.

So, I would have liked this to be tied more to individual psychology, and also to have had evidence offered that this is a purely British disease, to disabuse me of my own assessment that it isn’t, but is something endemic in every nation, particularly those who saw themselves as world leaders at any time in history

If you are already familiar with the history of the British Empire, *Rule Nostalgia* will build on your existing foundation. If you do not have a foundation of British colonialism and the social drives behind it, you will have your mind expanded with new information. I would recommend this book to anyone still struggling to make sense of Brexit or anyone feeling warmth for the Empire.

I read this book last month, but have only just gotten around to writing this review, but the timing feels right. The recent death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II has shown the nostalgia for empire that still permeates modern British mainstream culture. QEII was one of the last vestiges of the British Empire and her passing marks a turning point.

This “backwards history of Britain” deconstructs the false longing for a non-existent past present in Brexit, then travels back through time examining *why* that past is non-existent. Perhaps my favorite revelation in this book was that the now-iconic “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters were never publicly used during WWII, but have become a nostalgic touchstone supposedly embodying the business as usual British spirit. This book is an important reminder that many of the things we have come to rely on as “Britishness” are made up.

I was looking forward to this book as history is my favourite subject and the idea of looking back to 'the good old days' of previous generations seemed like a great idea.

But oh dear; this book is dry and way too detailed and academic for the mainstream reader. Now that my studying days are over I prefer a much lighter delivery of facts. And a bit less politician bashing. They might deserve it from our current viewpoint but it will make the book very dated very quickly and unlikely to be a popular read for too long.

An interesting book, which certainly makes the reader think, but I found it a bit of a dry read, which I struggled to finish. I'm glad I read it, but it was hard work at times!

This is a really interesting and quite addictive book about how nostalgia plays a part in our lives. I hadn't realised how it is used in modern politics until I read this book and now I have noticed it in many advertising campaigns.

The author starts with Britain today, this works really well as it meant that as a reader I could immediately identify and recognise things that are and have been happening within the last couple of years. Using examples, the author shows how words and meanings are used to convey a feeling. A couple of good examples are from the pandemic - "Keep Calm and Carry On" and also the Brexit message of "Make Britain Great Again" are phrases from 20th Century history, yet play on the current feeling of Britishness. This is only one very small example, but it is one that we can remember seeing or hearing at some point over the last couple of years and probably within the last couple of weeks as the Tories are awaiting who will take over from PM Boris.

As I said, starting with the present day is a great way of showing the point of this book and its relevance. The author doesn't show just one side, she shows different sides and this gives various viewpoints and perspectives from everyday people to those who are known for whatever reason.

The nostalgic view of people back through the years is something that has always happened, and when a campaign or favour is needed or support required, then phrases that have been used in the past are brought back out again. They worked well to appeal to the sense of belonging, of family and of friendships. However, they are not always from the best of Britain's history and this is where viewpoints and perspectives become very important.

This is a very readable book, I suppose you could say that the author is like the devil's advocate as she shares different arguments, ideologies, p[olicies, religions and opinions. It is a well-researched book and I really enjoyed the way it was laid out. It was a book I initially planned on dipping in and out of but soon found myself caught up in it and read it within a couple of days.

Great for those who like history and how history has been used over the generations. Very enjoyable and informative and I would definitely recommend it.

Recent years have seen a plethora of books that aim to make history fresh and engaging, as well as accessible to all. This book takes these aims one step further, though, as it refracts history through the lens of ‘nostalgia’ and therefore forces the reader to engage with its theme of yearning for the past. Structured into explorations of different eras, there are some very interesting passage on nostalgia as practised by writers and thinkers (the Pre-Raphaelites, for example) and nostalgic propaganda as used by political and social commentators. I specifically enjoyed the chapter on nostalgia in historical fiction, but I imagine other readers will find other chapters that really jump out at them. This is not a book that has to be read in linear form, or in one sitting, but it is a book that deserves to be read by as many people as possible. Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for the free ARC that I received as this made reading and reviewing this excellent book possible for me.

I’m so glad I read this as it was absolutely fascinating. ‘Rule, Nostalgia’ is a history book with a bit of a twist in that not only does it start in the present day and work backwards but it is also about history itself or rather the history of the role of history. Woods explores the idea that history is not fixed as such and is constantly rewritten. How we view it and what we see as important or not is often far more linked to the present moment than the past. We often think it was better before, that the nation was greater and view the past with skewed rose- tinted glasses. The thing is every generation, era and century have done exactly the same thing. Not only does this influence how we look at the past but it can change how we view the present too, something frequently harnessed by politicians, leaders and media.

The timing of this book couldn’t be more apt as Brexit, Boris Johnson, MPs standing to be the new MP are constantly in the news and use propaganda of the British past to paint a picture of today and an imagined ideal future. As terms such as ‘woke’ are branded round and arguments and counter arguments take place about statues and which history is told this book shows that many of these ideas are not new but where danger lies is in silencing anyone who questions the history and nostalgic image a country paints. So much of reading this made me think of Benedict Anderson’s ‘Imagined Communities’ idea and his writing on nationalism. I can see this book really making people think.

As Woods goes back through hundreds of years she shows how the arguments and nostalgia have clear patterns throughout the ages. Her writing while being informative and packed full of information is extremely readable and not dry in the slightest. Honestly I really loved reading this one. If nothing else everyone needs to read the conclusion!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The full title of Rule, Nostalgia is "A Backwards History Of Britain", which it certainly is - back to the Elizabethan age. Buit the project Hannah Rose Woods has set herself here, or has been set by the particularly jingoistic aftermath of Brexit, is to tell a history of histories of Britain, or more exactly a history of nostalgia and heritage has been shackled to political causes. And by telling it backwards, she can start where the load of nostalgia is highest, the present whilst debunking a few one sides myths (she debunks nearly all of the actual history - but it is important to note that both sides have happily utilised rose tinted glasses and golden ages when they need to.

The difficulty she faces however is as she travels back into the past (and its a chapter per age) her sources of chatter about "the good old days" becomes less plentiful. There is probably as much material being churned out in the modern media in a week, than she has to go on for the 17th Century, particularly when the kind of talk about lionising the past is the place of editorials or political pronouncements which just weren't recorded in the same way back then. This is necessarily a problem - her end point around the period of Shakespeare has a big honking touch up of history right there in Henry V and its ilk. But what is a very novel and interesting technique to talk about history in the first four chapters does almost become a straight history in the back few. I also think there is possibly a little bit more room for reflection than her conclusion. Perhaps it doesn't need it, she makes the point over and over again with the history that people have used history, and retellings, and nostalgia for their own purposes forever. There is a good Susan Sontag quote near the end that reminds us that we don't remember the day to day irritations of a holiday, only the golden moments. This is a decent counter reminder of that.

So whilst I enjoyed Rule, Nostalgia, and do think its central thesis is a strong one, there are tensions here - not least that this backwards and sometimes askew version of history sometimes expects to to know the history (particularly in the modern period), and sometimes spends quite a bit of time telling you it. Whilst this is necessarily an issue, it does make the book feel a little disjointed. But the history she tells is well researched, resourced and with a light enough touch to make the whole thing very readable. And of course, the very nature of the book, she delights in showing her working.

This book caught my attention as I'm a fan of Hannah Rose Woods. I'm no history buff - I don't generally read a lot of history books - but I remember Woods absolutely smashed being captain of her University Challenge team and really enjoyed watching her on that.

As an English person who has lived in Scotland for almost 10 years now, I'm often amused by the difference between the English and Scottish media when it comes to reflecting on our shared history. This is something Woods reflects on in this book, which uses nostalgia as a theme to reflect on the past 500 years of British history. Effectively every age, every generation, likes to wish for the 'good old days' wearing rose-tinted spectacles. When the 'good old days' was generally anything but.

I learned a lot of interesting facts and stories from this book and enjoyed Woods' reflections on similarities with present day situations and political messaging. Even going back 500 years (this book goes backwards in time) it gave more of an insight into the actual day-to-day actions and trivialities of real people that was eye-opening.

This was fairly accessible to non-history fans but there were a few times towards the end of the book where there was definitely some assumed knowledge that I didn't have. Slightly confusing at times but it forced me to do a lot of my own research where I learned even more! A really fun and engaging journey through history that I highly recommend if you want to find out more about British (mostly English) history - and often the history that today's media likes to try and forget!

Rule, Nostalgia was a thought-provoking take on the "good old days" and nostalgic sentiment through the ages. It was definitely an interesting read - especially the first and last chapters on the present day and the Reformation - however it was not as accessible as I had hoped and I feel like non-historians might find it a bit of a slog (as I did at times).