{"product_id":"sons-of-the-empire-1","title":"Sons of the Empire","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn\u003cem\u003e Sons of the Empire\u003c\/em\u003e, Robert MacDonald explores popular ideas and myths in Edwardian Britain, their use by Baden-Powell, and their influence on the Boy Scout movement. In particular, he analyses the model of masculinity provided by the imperial frontier, the view that life in younger, far-flung parts of the empire was stronger, less degenerate than in Britain. The stereotypical adventurer – the frontiersman – provided an alternative ethic to British society. The best known example of it at the time was Baden-Powell himself, a war scout, the Hero of Mafeking in the South African war, and one of the first cult heroes to be created by the modern media.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhen Baden-Powell founded the Boy Scouts in 1908, he used both the power of the frontier myth and his own legend as a hero to galvanize the movement. The glamour of war scouting was hard to resist, its adventures a seductive invitation to the first recruits. But Baden-Powell had a serious educational program in mind: Boy Scouts were to be trained in good citizenship.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMacDonald documents his study with a wide range of contemporary sources, from newspapers to military memoirs. Exploring the genesis of an imperial institution through its own texts, he brings new insight into the Edwardian age.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"By Robert MacDonald","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43575865835702,"sku":"9781442680098","price":46.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0251\/4980\/0541\/files\/9781442680098_95d72aaf-9139-4910-a5e2-d911a09b5712.jpg?v=1727467181","url":"https:\/\/combined-academic.myshopify.com\/products\/sons-of-the-empire-1","provider":"Combined Academic Publishers - Mare Nostrum Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}