Front cover image for The English Constitution

The English Constitution

From the Publisher: Walter Bagehot's The English Constitution (1867) is the best account of the history and workings of the British political system ever written. As arguments raged in mid-Victorian Britain about giving the working man the vote, and democracies overseas were pitched into despotism and civil war, Bagehot took a long, cool look at the "dignified" and "efficient" elements which made the English system the envy of the world. His analysis of the monarchy, the role of the prime minister and cabinet, and comparisons with the American presidential system are astute and timeless, pertinent to current discussions surrounding devolution and electoral reform. Combining the wit and panache of a journalist with the wisdom of a man of letters steeped in evolutionary ideas and historical knowledge, Bagehot produced a book which is always thoughtful, often funny, and surprisingly entertaining. This edition reproduces Bagehot's original 1867 work in full, and introduces the reader to the dramatic political events that surrounded its publication
Print Book, English, 2007
Cosimo Inc, New York, NY, 2007
lxxiv, 292 pages ; 23 cm
9781602062566, 1602062560
297150147
Introduction to the second edition
1: Cabinet
2: Monarchy
3: Monarchy (continued)
4: House of the Lords
5: House of commons
6: On changes of ministry
7: Its supposed checks and balances
8: Pre-requisites of cabinet government, and the peculiar form which they have assumed in England
9: Its history and the effects of that history-conclusion
English Constitution originally published in 1873 -- verso page