Varieties of Anti-Fascism Britain in the Inter-War Period

This volume of essays by a number of the foremost experts in the field examines the varieties of anti-fascism in inter-war Britain. Anti-fascism between the wars is still most frequently associated with the extreme left and its violent street confrontations with Mosley's British Union of Fascists. By extending the scope of anti-fascism to include center and right-wing opinion, and a wide range of institutions, this book breaks new ground. Chapters examine the state, political parties of left and right, the media, the churches, the involvement of women, and the responses of intellectuals. It also discusses the impact of European anti-fascist exiles and the legacy of anti-fascism on the post-war British Establishment. This volume examines the varieties of anti-fascism in inter-war Britain. Ordinarily anti-fascism is defined in terms of anti-fascist activism. By extending the scope of the concept, this book breaks new ground. Chapters examine political parties, the state, the media, women, the churches, and intellectuals.

NIGEL COPSEY is Reader in Modern History at Teesside University. He is the author of Anti-Fascism in Britain (Basingstoke: (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2000), Contemporary British Fascism: The British National Party and the Quest for Legitimacy (Basingstoke, Macmillan, 2004; 2008), and co-editor of British Fascism, the Labour Movement and the State (Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2005). ANDRZEJ OLECHNOWICZ has research interests in the social and cultural history of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Britain. His current research lies in two areas: the evolution and character of the British monarchy since 1837, seeking to understand its popularity and influence in shaping national identity; and notions of 'leisure', 'community' and 'mass society' in inter-war Britain.