James Nott

I am a social and cultural historian specialising in twentieth-century British history. I pioneered the social and cultural history of social dancing in Britain and my most recent monograph was the first history of dance halls in Britain. Going to the Palais: A Social and Cultural History of Dancing and Dance Halls in Britain, 1918-60 (OUP, 2015) won widespread critical acclaim from reviewers and is due to be re-issued in paperback in 2020. I also wrote Music for the People: Popular Music and Dance in Interwar Britain (OUP, 2002) (awarded proxime accessit to the Whitfield Prize by the Royal Historical Society) the first academic history of the British popular music industry in the 1920s and 1930s. I also co-edited Classes, Cultures and Politics: Essays on British History for Ross McKibbin (2011), also published by OUP.

I am currently working on a second history of popular music in interwar Britain and on anti-Soviet propaganda in twentieth century British popular culture. My next book publication will be a global history of the interwar dance craze which I am working on with Klaus Nathaus of the University of Oslo.

Reviews:

Going to the Palais

A 'monumental book...The depth of research, sources, and critical reflection... marks it out as a classic.' Keith Gildart, Journal of Modern History

'a landmark study ... Going to the Palais stands as an exemplary work of social and cultural history' - Peter Bailey, American Historical Review

'In its range of topics, density of assembled evidence and consistent, subtlety of argument, this book is set to become the definitive account of dance halls in 20th century Britain.' - Jeffrey Richards, History Today