The autobiography of a nation

The 1951 Festival of Britain

By (author) Becky E. Conekin

Publication date:

27 March 2003

Length of book:

272 pages

Publisher

Manchester University Press

Dimensions:

240x170mm

ISBN-13: 9780719060601

BOOK DESCRIPTION
TABLE OF CONTENTS

The first full-length study on the 1951 Festival of Britain. An examination of how Britain and Britishness were portrayed in the 1951’s Festival’s exhibitions and events. Covers the Festival’s history and historiography, its purpose, its representations of the future and the past, the role of London and the ‘local’, the British Empire and finally its legacy.

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Section 1: Introducing the Festival
1. The Background: history and historiography
2. The Festival’s People and Purposes
Section 2: Time
3. The Festival’s representations of the future
4. The Festival’s representations of the past
Section 3: Place
5. London-based representations of the metropole and the ‘regions’
6. The role of ‘the local’ in the Festival
7. The place that was almost absent: the British Empire
8. The place of escape and edification: the Battersea Pleasure Gardens
Section 4: Conclusion
9. Conclusion: The Festival and its legacy
Select Bibliography
Appendices
Index