The Marconi scandal and related aspects of British anti-semitism, 1911-1914.

The thesis sets out to examine the political importance of the Marconi
Scandal and also to study the use of anti-semitism during the affair and the
wider implications of this hostility to Jews.
Using a wide variety of sources, the first three chapters analyse the
Scandal and its significance in Edwardian politics, suggesting that the
parliamentary tensions traditionally described had little fundamental influence on
the governing elite and its institutions.
The press coverage of the Scandal is considered, indicating the political
divisions and also the role played by anti-semitism in the affair. From this
general approach, there develops a close study of the two journals most prominent
in the anti-semitic campaign. These chapters examine the principal characters
involved with the journals, their views on the Jews and the translation of this
journalistic hostility into practical action, a previously undocumented episode.
Finally, the Scandal is placed in its wider context of British anti-semitism
before 1914. A comparative study of contemporary attitudes towards other minority
groups in Britain and towards Jews in other areas of the world is also made. In
this section, the main stereotypes of Jews are identified and from this approach
it can be shown that British anti-semitism before 1914 is an important indicator
of attitudes after the First World War. The conspiracy theory of anti-semitism is
apparent well before the Russian Revolution of 1917, usually claimed to be the
impetus for the British anti-semitism of the 1920s and 30s. The conclusion is
that the Marconi Scandal and its ramifications mark an important transitional
period in the continuum of British anti-semitism.