Cornwall Politics in the Age of Reform, 1790-1885, by Edwin Jaggard (Woodbridge: Boydell P., 1999; pp. 238. 45 £).

Edwin Jaggard's Cornwall Politics in the Age of Reform, 1790-1885, is an important contribution to current debates about nineteenth-century political parties, voters and the franchise. Through a detailed local study, Jaggard considers the world of the unreformed electoral system and the impact of the 1832, 1867 and 1884-5 Reform Acts. Anyone who assumes that Cornish politics was simply a by-word for Old Corruption or that the Celtic fringe was left behind by political modernization will be surprised by Jaggard's book. There is plenty of bribery and intrigue here but the picture that emerges is far more complex, diverse and sophisticated. The book commences with a lively social and economic portrait of...