Abstract
Cultural tensions between Britain and the European Union take centre stage in the Eurosceptic novels which represent how the EU culturally invades Britain and dystopia-like encroaches on the terrains of British history and identity, fabricating and propagandising a shared European past, a common heritage and culture. The chapter examines the novels’ discursive construction of the British nation and national identity in relation to the EU and pays particular attention to the prominent role that the novels attribute to the construction of the nation’s past and culture, to historical encounters, traditions and narratives. The chapter outlines first how the EU threatens the British nation and its narration, and second, how in turn, the fictitious resistance movements draw from the same set of national(ist) narratives to articulate their points of view: icons of nationhood, sites of memory and historical junctures become indispensable for the formation of national resistance against the EU. The chapter thereby illustrates, how the novels draw from and extrapolate Eurosceptic tropes.
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Notes
- 1.
In dystopian fiction, the regime leaders perceive memories as a threat to the current order, as “[h]istory, its knowledge and memory are dangerous elements that can give the dystopian citizen a potential instrument of resistance” (Baccolini, “Useful” 115; see also Ferns 119). 2.2 and 3.2 will show that the regimes’ fear is not unwarranted. The knowledge of national history (tinged with nostalgia) appears to be central to the formation of resistance in the EU novels.
- 2.
For the scholars of late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, Rome was the “natural successor to a sequence consisting of Alexander the Great, Persia, and Babylonia” and thus the “fourth and final realm of civilisation outlined in the Book of Daniel whose existence was necessary for defence against the forces of the apparently imminent Apocalypse” (Foster 45). In the course of the centuries, several other countries came to see themselves as subsequent new, fifth empire (ibid.).
On Roman Empire and European Unification see also Erskine (2010), Smith (2007) and Hölkeskamp and Stein-Hölkeskamp (2006).
- 3.
By denoting it empire the regime also associates the EU with a particular form of political organisation or method of governance. Several studies discuss this topic (the EU as empire) from a political science perspective: Behr and Stivachtis (2015), Nicolaïdis et al. (2014), Marks (2012) and Zielonka (2006).
- 4.
The myth of Roman decadence has also become associated with the ultimate decline of the Roman Empire (e.g. by Edward Gibbon 1776). Is this a hint that the extravagance and excess of the EU elites will lead to the downfall of the EU?
- 5.
Charlemagne is commemorated as founder of the idea of a united Europe and, most tellingly, gives his name to the renowned Charlemagne Prize. The prize honours public figures or bodies “distinguished by their outstanding work towards European unity or cooperation between its states” (Stiftung Internationaler Karlspreis zu Aachen n.p.). On the Charlemagne Prize as European memory site see Hefty (2012).
- 6.
According to Foster, Pope Leo manufactured an imaginary history and created the empire discourse (23–24). The Carolingian empire stands for European unity with regard to politics and economics, but also in view of administration, culture, religion, legislation and writing.
- 7.
Tellingly, the treaty was signed on 1 April. Is joining the EU an April fool joke, a hoax, a fake story invented to mislead the British?
- 8.
Having dissolved the Holy Roman Empire, Napoleon presented himself as descendant of Caesar and Charlemagne. In 1804 he declared that “he and France embodied Imperator and Imperium, respectively” (Foster 50).
- 9.
On the alleged link between the EU and the German Reich see below.
- 10.
In 1877, Queen Victoria proclaimed the title “Empress of India” which elevated her “to an equal level with her growing rival in Berlin [Kaiser of Germany], expressed supreme sovereignty over her hundreds of millions of new subjects on the subcontinent, and made a powerful public statement to the world that the British Raj was, in the British minds, justified” (Foster 51).
- 11.
The ECSC was in fact built upon the idea to prevent further war. It was officially “set up with the aim of ending the frequent and bloody wars between neighbours, which culminated in the Second World War. As of 1950, the European Coal and Steel Community begins to unite European countries economically and politically in order to secure lasting peace” (European Union, “History” n.p.). The aim as such was embedded in EU law. Art 3 (1) of the EU treaty reads: “The Union’s aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples” (ibid., “Consolidated Versions” n.p.). In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, because “for over six decades [it] contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe” (nobelprize.org n.p.).
- 12.
For instance, Herman Van Rompuy (first permanent President of the European Council) stated in his Nobel lecture: “So, where there was war, there is now peace. But another historic task now lies ahead of us: keeping peace where there is peace” (n.p.).
- 13.
Chapter 3 elaborates on this Eurosceptic motif (the Europeans as utopians and dreamers).
- 14.
The “Euromyths” blog run by the representation of the European Commission in the UK targets false allegations about EU regulations as published by the press between 1992 and 2018. It features about 750 reports (n.p.). For instance, the directive “80/181/EEC” amended by “2009/3/EC” made the metric system for the single market compulsory (European Union, “Directive” n.p.) but did not prescribe that selling eggs by the dozen is illegal nor that beer cannot be served in pints any longer as suggested by the novels. In fact, going metric was not the result of EU membership. The drive for alignment with global moves in this direction was started during Harold Wilson’s term of government more than 50 years ago—in 1965, eight years before the United Kingdom joined the EC. Brussels’ only involvement has been to ensure that EU legislation recognises the UK’s pint, mile and troy ounce for as long as the UK wishes to continue using them (European Commission in the UK n.p.).
- 15.
Both battles, Trafalgar (1805) and Waterloo (1815), have been decisive for shaping British national identity (e.g. Colley, Britons 2009). Even today, the battle-myths linger in the minds of the British, as the 200-year anniversary festivities (e.g. BBC online, “Trafalgar” n.p.) and corresponding publications (e.g. Clayton 2015; Forrest 2015) demonstrate. Trafalgar Square with “its proximity to sites of power and leisure, accessibility, its history as a site of public comment and popular identification” is still considered vital for constructing national identity (Sumatojo 414); re-imagining the battle of Waterloo (as in 2015) is said to have shaped British attitudes towards the EU (Brown, Chap. 2 ).
- 16.
3.1 will elaborate on how technological advancement and scientific progress in The Ambassador further shape the architecture of London (life in Britain in 2099 largely takes place underground).
- 17.
According to Fornäs, official EU texts “declare that the flag is meant to symbolise ‘Europe’s unity and identity’, through a circle of gold stars representing ‘solidarity and harmony between the peoples of Europe’ or ‘the ideal of unity among the peoples of Europe’” (120).
- 18.
In The Aachen Memorandum, The Ambassador, Euroslavia and A Sentimental Traitor the common currency is named Euro; in Super-State it is called “univ” (38). To Fornäs, the Euro is the “most recent and also in many ways the most effective and important official European symbol” (205). On Europe and its official symbols, see Fornäs (2012).
- 19.
For a more detailed discussion of the EU’s political, economic and monetary structures, see Chaps. 3 and 4 .
- 20.
Former British PM Edward Heath was pro-European (especially pro-Market) and signed the accession treaty, taking Britain into the European Communities in 1973 (e.g. Forster 32–47).
- 21.
Blair (like Heath) supported and promoted close political and, above all, economic relations with the EU. Both British Prime Ministers were awarded the Charlemagne Prize for European integration.
- 22.
In Euroslavia and The Aachen Memorandum the EU state is divided into regions, not nations. Chapter 3 will deal with the political structure of the EU and regionalisation.
- 23.
This literary extrapolation mirrors fears of Eurosceptics such as Nigel Farage, who vehemently argued against the introduction of EU education in schools as suggested by the European People’s Party in its Action Programme of 2014 (24). His response reads as follows: “[T]he EU Thought Police now want to brainwash your children. All responsible parents and nurturing teachers should protest against this EU intrusion into the sphere of education. Propaganda should have no place in the classroom” (qtd. in UKIP Members of the European Parliament n.p.).
- 24.
Chapter 3 demonstrates how some of the fictitious EUs resort to more repressive means of power and control such as media censorship or surveillance, thus bearing a close resemblance to totalitarian dystopias.
- 25.
Fahrenheit 451, for example, portrays “a world in which television and entertainment have out ruled independent thinking and learning; books are forbidden and the fire brigades’ only responsibility is to burn books” (Voigts and Boller, “Young” 420).
- 26.
See 3.1 on the topic of abuse of power/science and the various means of conditioning, mind control and surveillance as they figure in the futuristic EUs.
- 27.
In the novels The Ambassador and Super-State, the EU, China and the US figure as leading and competing global powers.
- 28.
According to the Eurobarometer opinion polls, the UK claims undivided allegiance from its people. The polls show 55% (1992) / 64% (2015) / 53% (2019) of the respondents to regard themselves as ‘only British’, whereas 35% (1992) / 33% (2015) / 32% (2019) feel ‘both British and European’ and 4% (1992) / 1% (2015) / 2% (2019) see themselves as ‘only European’. These results imply a clear rank order; Europeanness is relegated to the last position (European Commission, “Nationality” n.p.).
- 29.
An intriguing case in point is which identity (English or British) is defended in the novels. As will be shown, the Eurosceptic novels use Britishness and Englishness interchangeably. They defend the United Kingdom as EU member state against closer European integration. In contrast, the post-2016 novels (BrexLit) clearly revolve around questions of regional and national identity. Those later novels exhibit a resurgence and strengthening of English nationalism– which is, as scholars argue, among the central factors that explain Euroscepticism in Britain and the Brexit vote in particular (e.g. Wellings 2010, 2012, 2015; Tombs 2016; Barnett 2017; O’Toole 2017; Ash 2019).
- 30.
The novels’ “typically British” icons, symbols, traditions, historical events, and attributes reflect those that figure in the British Citizenship Test (Gov.uk, “Life” n.p.), in the YouGov-Cambridge survey on national identity (YouGov, “Census” n.p.) and likewise those that are exhibited on the posters of the Britain is Great campaign (Greatbritaincampaign n.p.).
- 31.
For instance, John Major in 1993 was convinced that British life, as pictured by Orwell, would remain unaffected by the EU: “Fifty years from now, Britain will still be the country of long shadows on county grounds, warm beer, invincible green suburbs, dog lovers and pools fillers and—as George Orwell said—‘old maids cycling to Holy Communion through the morning mist’” (qtd. in Kumar, Making 227). As Kumar argues: “It was really England, not Britain that was the bearer of the proud identity invoked” (ibid.). The EU novels revert to the same discursive strategy, using Britishness and Englishness (deliberately) as synonyms.
- 32.
Issues like (Scottish) devolution or divisions over EU membership (between the nations of the UK) do not feature prominently in the Eurosceptic novels. The eight novels were published before events and developments such as the rise of the Scottish National Party, the referendum on Scottish independence (2014), the Scotland Acts of 2012 and 2016, and, not least the In/Out referendum (2016) took place. The latter revealed stark differences between England and Scotland regarding EU membership. Leave won the majority of votes in England (53.4%) and Wales (52.5%), while the people of Northern Ireland (55.8%) and Scotland (62%) voted decisively to remain within the EU (BBC online, “Referendum” n.p.). Theresa May and Boris Johnson both set out with the intention to build a new united Britain. BrexLit can be read as literary response to the motif of a divided kingdom.
- 33.
Vera Lynn’s wartime hits “We’ll Meet Again” and “(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over The) White Cliffs of Dover” moreover evoke memories of the Second World War (the Battle of Britain) (Eaglestone, “Cruel” 96) and the myth of Britain fighting alone against the Nazis. Dover’s white cliffs also figured as central national symbol in several Eurosceptic discourses, e.g. UKIP’s campaign poster “No border. No control” in the run-up to the European elections in 2014 (n.p.) or the title page of the Daily Mail on Brexit day (Farrer n.p.).
- 34.
A YouGov survey (3/2018) found 51% of the respondents considering the institution of the monarchy as good for Britain (12% as bad). Moreover, 57% think that Britain should continue to have a monarchy in the future and 47% are convinced that Britain will have a hereditary monarchy in 100 years’ time (“Monarchy” n.p.).
- 35.
In the novel Euroslavia the Sterling area has not ceased to exist. In reality, the Sterling area contracted after Britain joined the EC in 1973: the “sterling-area exchange guarantees were phased out in the following years, in the wake of the adoption of floating exchange rates by the United Kingdom and other leading trading nations. The last vestiges of sterling exchange controls were ended in 1980” (Encyclopaedia Britannica n.p.).
- 36.
The pound stands for an independent monetary policy (see Chap. 4 on the economic dimension of literary Euroscepticism).
- 37.
In accordance with O’Connor “[t]he heyday of the English breakfast lasted roughly a century, from the accession of Queen Victoria to the outbreak of the Second World War” (ibid. 169). During this time it came to stand for “a certain social order and defined ‘Englishness’” (ibid.). Today it enjoys a revival which can be interpreted as a “reassertion and reinvention of Englishness” (ibid. 168). In the novels the English breakfast tradition is framed as a marker of Britishness. Britishness and Englishness are once again used interchangeably.
- 38.
As elaborated in Chap. 1, a number of scholars have pointed to a direct link between this reading, i.e. the British historiographical tradition (“Whig interpretation of history”) with its roots in the nineteenth century, and contemporary Eurosceptic thinking (Daddow, “Euroscepticism” 321–322; Deighton, “Past” 103; Bell 5–19).
- 39.
The traumatic experience of invasion and foreign rule forms part of Britain’s collective memory. The Norman conquest of 1066 has particularly left its mark on national consciousness. According to a YouGov opinion poll from 2011, a large number of people (69%) still find it important that “Britain has not been conquered since 1066” (YouGov, “Census” n.p.).
- 40.
The novel largely ignores the fact that foreigners (e.g. Germans) figured among the ancestors of William Windsor. It deliberately conceals or denies that Britain’s history is connected and interwoven with Europe’s history, especially with regard to the royal dynasties.
- 41.
In general, the number 1000 has not been exclusively evoked by British (Eurosceptics). The number has acquired “mythical” status and has been applied by politicians, journalists, historians to signify timelessness, eternity, time immemorial (e.g. the Third Reich was propagated to last for 1000 years).
- 42.
Key source for the island-metaphor is Shakespeare’s history play Richard II. In act 2, scene 1, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, urges Richard II to take better care of the country. He famously describes Britain as paradisiac island, as “scepter’d isle” which is “set in the silver sea”. The sea serves “as a natural border which guards England against the dangers from the Continent” (Lenz 53). This scene inspired the early historians Macaulay and Trevelyan in their writings, which then again influenced works by subsequent writers (e.g. Arthur Bryant’s Island Histories, Churchill’s The Island Race). Intertextual references to the island story can be found till this day. The narrative also served as model for the Edwardian children’s book Our Island Story (1905) by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall which remains popular till this day. It is alleged to be Cameron’s favourite childhood book; its centenary edition was widely disseminated among primary schools in 2005 (Brocklehurst 57, 66). Moreover, speeches from various former PMs (Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair) frequently refer to Britain as “Island nation”, “Island Race” or to a particular “Island mentality”, an “Island character” (Spiering, Cultural 33). David Cameron, for instance, in 2016 stated: “If there is one constant in the ebb and flow of our island story, it is the character of the British people. Our geography has shaped us, and shapes us today. We are special, different, unique. We have the character of an island nation” (“UK’s Strength” n.p.).
- 43.
- 44.
The idea of a distant, separate continent Europe seems to be deeply ingrained in the minds of the British. Press announcements like “[t]here has been a persistent fog at London airport during the weekend, and the Continent has been cut off for twenty-four hours” (qtd. in Storry and Childs 13) are as likely to be found in Britain as phrases like “Jim’s off to Europe” and “Fred’s back from Europe” or British dictionary entries defining Europe as “the continent of Europe, except for the British Isles” (qtd. in Ash, “Britain” 4).
- 45.
“Britain’s defiance of Nazi Germany in 1940” is important to 83% of the respondents with regard to their British identity (YouGov, “Census” n.p.).
- 46.
Spiering has observed that “since the 1960s, every major Prime Ministerial speech on Britain and Europe contains a passage on the war” (Cultural 10).
- 47.
Eurosceptics, for instance, argued: “Freeing Europeans against political dictators has been a fairly constant occupation for this nation” (Mather qtd. in Eaglestone, “Cruel” 98). In the hard/withdrawalist Eurosceptic novels, the British resistance movements are likewise occupied with freeing Britain (and freeing Europe) (see Chap. 4).
- 48.
The Empire undoubtedly left its mark on Britain’s collective memory and national self-understanding. Britain’s colonial past helped to forge a British identity because it “encouraged the British to see themselves as a distinct, special, and often superior people” (Colley, “Britishness” 324). According to Colley, the possession of overseas territories enabled the British to “contrast their law, their standard of living, their treatment of women, their political stability, and above all, their collective power against societies that they only imperfectly understood but usually perceived as far less developed” (ibid.). This experience of Otherness, the Other in the shape of an exotic Empire was important to forging Britain and Britishness (ibid. 327). A survey by YouGov-Cambridge shows that “the fact that Britain once had a great empire” is still important to 56% of the respondents and their feelings of Britishness (YouGov, “Census” n.p.).
- 49.
The imperial mentality and Britain’s long time oversea orientation are frequently listed among the factors to have informed and incited British Euroscepticism (see Deighton 2002, 2017; Medrano 2003; Baxendale and Wellings 2015; Grob-Fitzgibbon 2016; Eaglestone 2018a). According to Deighton, “Britain’s ‘imperial cultural residue’ has always expressed itself through reluctance about the EC/EU, coupled with an obsession with the idea of British international political leadership, even as its vast global empire has slipped away over time” (“Brave” n.p.). With regard to recent developments, Mondal argues: “Brexit was energized and motivated by still-resonant imperial-era imaginaries and ideologies, which circulated with wild abandon during the lead-up to the referendum and have become almost entirely rehabilitated since” (83).
- 50.
According to a survey by Chatham House (and YouGov), “[t]raditional allies such as Australia, Canada and the US receive the most favourable opinions from the British public in a ranking of favourability of major states outside of Europe” (24, 26). In his speeches, former PM Cameron called Australia and New Zealand “our cousins” and “the nations to which we are perhaps closest in the world”, while he also stressed the “special bond” with Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands (“UK’s Strength” n.p.). Queen Elizabeth II in her annual Christmas broadcast regularly referred to the Commonwealth as a family of nations (e.g. in 2011) (royal.uk n.p.).
- 51.
For instance, Eurosceptic Daniel Hannan writes: “New Zealand uses common law and is English-speaking. Its companies have the same accounting systems as ours, and operate according to the same unwritten codes of business etiquette. […] None of these things is true of France, despite 40 years of single market directives” (n.p.).
- 52.
Former Foreign Secretary David Miliband (Labour Party), in 2007, found the US to be “the single most important bilateral relationship. We are committed members of the EU” (qtd. in Daddow, “Margaret” 214). Former PM Cameron called the US “our principal and indispensable ally” (“UK’s Strength” n.p.).
- 53.
The idea of an Anglosphere describes “a mutual political association that variously includes the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, the English-Speaking Caribbean islands and Singapore-all dedicated to free trade and greater military and security co-operation” (Baxendale and Wellings 129). It has been fervently supported by prominent British Eurosceptics such as Margaret Thatcher (1999), John Redwood (2005) or Daniel Hannan, with the latter claiming in 2012 that “the Anglosphere isn’t fanciful or romantic or passé [rather] most English-speaking peoples know, almost without thinking about it, what they share” (qtd. in Baxendale and Wellings 125).
- 54.
The discourse of nationalist exceptionalist history as put forward by the “Historians for Britain” campaign has been challenged. In an article headed “Fog in Channel, Historians Isolated” in History Today, a large group of eminent historians framed their opposing views as follows: “We challenge this narrative, because it does not fit with the evidence we have encountered in our own research, […]. We think that a history that emphasises Britain’s differences and separation from Europe (or elsewhere) narrows and diminishes our parameters, making our history not exceptional but undernourished. Britain’s past—and, therefore, its future—must be understood in the context of a complex, messy, exciting, and above all continuous interaction with European neighbours and indeed with the rest of the world” (n.p.).
- 55.
The “Get Britain Out”-campaign claimed in full: “[…] there is no such thing as ‘European culture’! […] ‘Europe’ is merely a geographical expression—nothing more. […] There is no cultural affinity between the Portuguese and the Poles, Cypriots or Czechs, Germans or Greeks, however federal the EU wants to make the whole EU project […] Whether it is by consuming French wine and cheese, buying German cars or going sightseeing in Rome, the British people love interacting with continental Europe. Indeed, it is precisely because we hold the multitude of European cultures in such high esteem that we want to retain our individual heritages instead of being reduced to just one federal melting pot” (getbritainout.org n.p.).
- 56.
For a detailed analysis of the representation of the EU’s institutional set up, the security forces and the political elites, see Chap. 3.
- 57.
Margaret Thatcher in 1990 convened a conference to analyse the allegedly “dangerous German national character” with a number of historians. As a result, character traits such as “aggressiveness, egotism, an inferiority complex and sentimentality” were attributed to the Germans (Evans n.p.).
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Bischoff, L. (2023). Defending the Nation. In: British Novels and the European Union. St Antony's Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22798-1_2
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