MacLeod, Emma Vincent

views updated

MacLeod, Emma Vincent

PERSONAL:

Education: University of Edinburgh, M.A., Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—University of Stirling, Pathfoot Bldg., A52, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, Scotland, former faculty member; University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, lecturer, 1996—.

WRITINGS:

A War of Ideas: British Attitudes to the Wars against Revolutionary France, 1792-1802, Ashgate (Brookfield, VT), 1998.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

A study of British attitudes about the United States after the Revolutionary War.

SIDELIGHTS:

Emma Vincent Macleod is a history professor whose first book, A War of Ideas: British Attitudes to the Wars against Revolutionary France, 1792-1802, proposes that while various ideologies in Britain did not dramatically change the course of history, they did have a significant impact on policies toward the French. American Historical Review critic Marilyn Morris noted how the author discusses the influences of Edmund Burke, who pushed for war, as well as more benign groups like the Friends of Peace. However, Morris maintained that Macleod errs by not discussing British feelings of nationalism enough and should have given this more weight than the more philosophical arguments of various religious factions. It was not so much opposition to French ideals that caused British aggressions, Morris maintained, but rather nationalism that was more important. "The problem comes in trying to distinguish private beliefs from public record," observed the critic. Although the reviewer praised Macleod's deft use of "private papers and public speeches," as well as for documenting arguments that occurred among women's groups at churches, Morris felt that "Macleod's argument proves cumbersome." In a much more positive review for the English Historical Review, Jennifer Mori acknowledged the author's lack of attention to "state loyalism," but appreciated its "balanced survey of printed sermons" and "comprehensive coverage" of religious views within Britain. Mori concluded: "This book is an important contribution to an expanding body of literature on Britain in the 1790s and will excite considerable interest from historians of ideas."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Historical Review, June, 2000, Marilyn Morris, review of A War of Ideas: British Attitudes to the Wars against Revolutionary France, 1792-1802, pp. 1005-1006.

English Historical Review, April, 2000, Jennifer Mori, review of A War of Ideas, pp. 475-476.