Mapping the State. English Boundaries and the 1832 Reform Act, by Martin Spychal, is the latest title published in the Society’s New Historical Perspectives book series.
The 1832 Reform Act was a landmark moment in the development of modern British politics. By overhauling the country’s ancient representative system, the legislation reshaped constitutional arrangements at Westminster, reinvigorated political relationships between the centre and the provinces, and established the political structures and precedents that both shaped and hindered electoral reform over the following century.
Mapping the State leads to a fundamental rethinking of the 1832 Reform Act by demonstrating how boundary reform, and the reconstruction of England’s electoral map by the little-known 1831–2 boundary commission, underpinned this turning point in the development of the British political nation.
Eschewing traditional approaches to the 1832 Reform Act, it draws from a significant new archival discovery – the working papers of the boundary commission – and a range of innovative quantitative techniques to provide a major reassessment of why and how the 1832 Reform Act passed, its impact on reformed politics both at Westminster and in the constituencies, and its significance to the expansion of the modern British state.
To accompany publication of his book, on 19 September, Martin has written an introductory article for the Society’s blog.
Mapping the State is the 19th title in the Society’s New Historical Perspectives book series, published with University of London Press. All titles in the series, including Martin’s, are published free Open Access, as pdf download and Manifold online reading edition. Mapping the State is also available in a paperback print edition, priced £29.99.
About the ‘New Historical Perspectives’ book series
New Historical Perspectives (NHP) is the Society’s book series for early career scholars (within ten years of their doctorate), commissioned and edited by the Royal Historical Society, in association with University of London Press and the Institute of Historical Research.
The series publishes monographs and edited collections by early career historians on all chronologies and histories, worldwide. Contracted authors receive mentoring from the editorial boar and an author workshop to develop their manuscript before its final submission.
All titles in the series are published in paperback print and open access (as pdf downloads and Manifold reading editions) with all costs covered by the Royal Historical Society and partners. Recent and forthcoming titles include:
- Anti-Communism in Britain During the Early Cold War A Very British Witch Hunt, by Matthew Gerth (2023)
- Gender, Emotions and Power, 1750–2020, edited by Hannah Parker and Josh Doble (2023)
- Designed for Play: Children’s Playgrounds and the Politics of Urban Space, 1840–2010, by Jon Winder (2024)
- Adulthood in Britain and the United States from 1350 to Generation Z, edited Maria Cannon and Laura Tisdall (forthcoming December 2024)
- Voice, Silence and Gender in South Africa’s Anti-Apartheid Struggle. The Shadow of a Young Woman, by Rachel E. Johnson (forthcoming 2025)
For details and access of all titles in the series, please see here.