In this acclaimed meditation on the British state, its identity and culture, Tom Nairn sees the monarchy both as its apex and its essence, the symbol of a national backwardness. This powerful, analytical, and bitterly funny book lays bare Britain#xE2;#xAC;"s peculiar, pseudo-modern, national identity, one that remains fixated on the Crown and its constitutional framework, the #xE2;#xAC;Sparliamentary sovereignty#xE2;#xAC; of Westminster.