Conservative History Journal

Review copies of two books have been received, both seem interesting and will, in due course, be written about. One is by Timothy Heppell, called The Tories and subtitled From Winston Churchill to David Cameron, "a comprehensive and accessible study of the electoral strategies, governing approaches and ideological thought of the British Conservative Party from Winston Churchill to David Cameron". This is not, perhaps, the most exciting of all topics and the book is academic in its language and approach but it has the makings of an important study.

The other one appears to me to be more interesting: A State of Play by Steven Fielding is subtitled British Politics on Screen, Stage and Page from Anthony Trollope to The Thick of It. According to the Wikipedia entry, this "sets out the constructivist view that how individuals view politics is constructed by fictional works about politics". There is a good deal to that and I am not sure that is a particularly constructivist point of view. I also think Steven Fielding's website is of some interest.

Now all I have to do is read them and review them.