-
Patriotism, Politeness, and National Identity in the South West of England in the Late Eighteenth Century
- ELH
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 76, Number 3, Fall 2009
- pp. 739-762
- 10.1353/elh.0.0052
- Article
- Additional Information
- Purchase/rental options available:
This paper explores the ways in which a group of West Country literati portrayed their region and activities in two key publications: Poems Chiefly by Gentleman of Devonshire and Cornwall and Essays by a Society of Gentlemen at Exeter. It identifies the characteristics of the regional and national identities they create in terms of British resistance to foreign aggression, polite learning and a conservative sociability, and considers these as part of the establishment response to the French Revolution.