Roger Louis, Kerr Professor of English History and Culture at the University of Texas at Austin, former president of the American Historical Association, honorary CBE, editor-in-chief of the Oxford History of the British Empire, is one of those infuriating Americans who know more about our history than we do ourselves. In his fastness deep in the heart of Texas he runs a British Studies seminar. Since the university is also home to one of the finest collections of British 20th-century manuscripts to be found either side of the Atlantic, scholars from all over the world flock to work there. Professor Louis then strikes ruthlessly, bullying or cajoling the visitors into lecturing to his seminar. Over 30 years of its existence an extraordinary galaxy of all that is brightest and best in English letters has been subjected to such treatment. This is the fourth volume to be published of the resultant lectures.
In his introduction Louis points out that a lecture differs from a scholarly essay in that it ‘allows greater freedom in the expression of personal or subjective views.
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