Book excerpt: The Edwardian age has long been recognised as a time of unusual social and political turbulence in British history. This book examines the main controversies of the period in an attempt to assess the nature and seriousness of the Edwardian crisis, relating the discussion to current historiographical debates on topics such as the vitality of Edwardian Liberalism, the problems of the Unionist party and the importance of feminism, labour unrest and nationalism as factors in Edwardian political life.