Today "nation" is probably the strongest of all forms of group identity. Over and above its expression in symbols such as flags, leaders, and cultural icons, national identity also works at a less visible, more insidious level--in the forms of discourse specific to a nation.

In this compelling study, Antony Easthope takes "Englishness" as an example and argues that this national identity is deeply informed by the empiricist tradition. He employs a wide array of examples from high and popular culture, ranging from philosophical and literary works through popular journalism and aspects of the English sense of humor. Englishness and National Culture asserts a profound continuity running from the seventeenth century until now. Today's journalists, novelists and politicians may imagine they are speaking for themselves, yet Easthope demonstrates the "ancestral voices" speaking through them.