The British especially have no excuse for forgetting that empire is a most complex and persistent beast. And it has claws. — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
The pre-war empire had been sufficiently informal and sufficiently cheap for Parliament to claim authority over it without having to concern itself… — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
Modernity is a shifting entity, not easily defined. Exactly the same is true of empire. — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
The gulf between imperial ideals and empire on the ground has customarily proved disillusioning not only for colonial peoples but also for… — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
Britain, like other European states, is not and never will again be in the top-world-power league, so its male leaders can afford to play… — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
Hillary Clinton is tough, clever, and formidably well briefed, and has been politically ambitious all her adult life. — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
In Great Britain, woman was subordinate and confined. But at least she was also safe. — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
Once conscription was introduced during the First World War, and once Britain's wars ceased being confined to the empire or to continental Europe and… — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
Virtually every war fought since the Act of Union had gone badly at some stage, but before 1783 none had ended in defeat. Nor… — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
Traditionally, royal females who have not had the luck to become queens regnant have been granted very limited roles. They have been expected to… — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
Never fly to the U.S. the day before Thanksgiving or the weekend after because every airport is guaranteed to be crammed to bursting with… — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
Men and women do not live by bread alone. They also need sustaining ideas. — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
High-level political wives are by no means new. In the 18th and 19th centuries, when patricians dominated British political life, it was common for… — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
Governments should encourage and facilitate the teaching of history, but one does not want them to be able to dictate, for political or partisan… — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
Although Britain has, since 1653, had nothing approaching a single, codified constitution, it did for a very long time possess a broad cult of… — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
Even at its most powerful, Britain always needed alliances with other European states. There would almost certainly have been no British victory at Waterloo,… — Linda Colley Copy Share Image
