Aristocracy in Europe, 1815-1914 Hardcover – February 1, 1993

I've learned to trust Dominic Lieven's research in an often difficult topic for those in "democracies" to understand. His ability to write in a manner that is at once understandable and easy to read, presents newly uncovered evidence that helps those of us continually seeking new information about an era that has contributed to today's problems. It is regrettable that so few copies of this work are still available. I feel privileged to have obtained one of them. Thank you, Amazon Marketplace!

The enobled upper class in the 19th century viewed the Industrial Revolution and (in Britain) the expansion of the franchise in quite a different light from the middle classes. To them, increased educational and occupational opportunities were an economic and social threat to their power and right to rule. Comparing the aristocracies in Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, the author investigates their "strategies" (rather too active a term, but it's accepted jargon) and the ways they responded to the danger. What he finds, not surprisingly, is that each national group responded in its own way to the challenge from the lower classes in its own country. Even the most moss-bound, autocratic English lord could barely conceive of the literal power of life and death enjoyed by Russian noblemen over their serfs. By the First World War, the untitled middle classes, the self-made men -- especially in Britain and Germany -- had begun to rival the aristocracy in economic power and in some cases was actively infiltrating it through marriage and purchase of estates. On the other hand, the new class of millionaires included a few aristocratic magnates whose wealth was industrial, however ancient their titles. Lieven is a political economist with a strong background in Russian affairs and this is a thoroughly academic volume, complete with statistics and charts, but it's an important work on the decline of aristocratic power.

This is an outstanding book for both the general and academic reader. The author writes with authority, intelligence, and passionate interest. My only small complaint is that the work compares the British, German, and Russian aristocracies, but leaves out the French. However, how much can one ask for!