Sixty-four nonsense poems dealing with Inspector Dogbone, a bratty brother, a worm, the tiniest man in the washing machine, and other meaningful subjects.

This is a study the emancipation of Catholics, Jews and Protestants in Europe during the 19th century. By comparing and contrasting the experiences of religious minorities, the book looks at the changing attitudes of the state to these groups.

Originally published in 1984, this book charts the political and social consequences of Methodist expansion in the first century of its existence. While the relationship between Methodism and politics is the central subject of the book a number of other important themes are also developed. The Methodist revival is placed in the context of European pietism, enlightenment thought forms, 18th century popular culture, and Wesley’s theological and political opinions. Throughout the book Methodism is treated on a national scale, although the regional, chronological and religious diversity of Methodist belief and practice is also emphasized.

The debate over extending full civil rights to British and Irish Catholics not only preoccupied British politics but also informed the romantic period's most prominent literary works. This book offers the first comprehensive, interdisciplinary study of Catholic Emancipation, one of the romantic period's most contentious issues.

In Religion, Toleration, and British Writing, 1790–1830, Mark Canuel examines the way that Romantic poets, novelists and political writers criticized the traditional grounding of British political unity in religious conformity. Canuel shows how a wide range of writers including Jeremy Bentham, Ann Radcliffe, Maria Edgeworth and Lord Byron not only undermined the validity of religion in the British state, but also imagined a new, tolerant and more organized mode of social inclusion. To argue against the authority of religion, Canuel claims, was to argue for a thoroughly revised form of tolerant yet highly organized government, in other words, a mode of political authority that provided unprecedented levels of inclusion and protection. Canuel argues that these writers saw their works as political and literary commentaries on the extent and limits of religious toleration. His study throws light on political history as well as the literature of the Romantic period.

The 19th century was, to a large extent, the ‘British century’. Great Britain was the great world power and its institutions, beliefs and values had an immense impact on the world far beyond its formal empire. Providence and Empire argues that knowledge of the religious thought of the time is crucial in understanding the British imperial story. The churches of the United Kingdom were the greatest suppliers of missionaries to the world, and there was a widespread belief that Britain had a divine mission to spread Christianity and civilisation, to eradicate slavery, and to help usher in the millennium; the Empire had a providential purpose in the world. This is the first connected account of the interactions of religion, politics and society in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales between 1815 and 1914. Providence and Empire is essential reading for any student who wishes to gain an insight into the social, political and cultural life of this period.