The twentieth volume in the acclaimed paperback series . . . the only county series that can legitimately claim to represent the past and present of a nation. Cornish Studies has consistently - and successfully - sought to investigate and understand the complex nature of Cornish identity, as well as to discuss its implications for society and governance in contemporary Cornwall. Publication of Cornish Studies: Twenty marks two decades of this internationally acclaimed paperback series The volume discusses Cornish medieval and early modern studies, examines the efforts of Cornish language revivalists past and present, and considers the relation between Cornish folk tradition and Cornish identity, as well as evaluating Cornish literature in Cornwall and Australia, investigating the distinctive features of Cornish politics in the first half of the twentieth century, analysing the separation of wives and husbands during Cornwall’s ‘Great Emigration, and reviewing Cornish mine accidents.
“For the past twenty years, Cornish Studies has stood at the very heart of the ongoing scholarly conversation over what it means – and what is has meant – to be Cornish. Interdisciplinary and internationalist in its approach, the series adopts a wide variety of perspectives in order to set the people of Cornwall – and the wider Cornish diaspora – in a truly global context”.
Mark Stoyle, Professor of History, University of Southampton
Philip Payton is Emeritus Professor in the University of Exeter and Professor of History at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, and is the former Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies in the University of Exeter. He edited Cornish Studies, published annually from 1993-2013, the only series of publications that seeks to investigate and understand the complex nature of Cornish identity, as well as to discuss its implications for society and governance in contemporary Cornwall.
He has written extensively on Cornish topics, and recent books include A.L. Rowse and Cornwall: A Paradoxical Patriot (2005), Making Moonta: The Invention of Australia’s Little Cornwall (2007), John Betjeman and Cornwall: ‘The Celebrated Cornish Nationalist’ (2010), and (edited with Alston Kennerley and Helen Doe), The Maritime History of Cornwall (2014). He has recently been awarded South Australian Historian of the Year 2017 by the History Council of South Australia.
Gemma Goodman holds a PhD in English Literature from the University of Warwick. She returned home to Cornwall in 2016 from where she continues her research on literature of Cornwall, whil e working as a researcher on academic projects and as a project manager for cultural and heritage projects
Ronald M. James is a historian and folklorist. He was adjunct faculty at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he taught history and folklore. He is currently associated with the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Iowa State University. He has authored or co-authored thirteen books and contributed chapters and articles to many more, including Cornish Studies: Second Series published by UEP.
He was the nation’s I.T.T. Fellow to Ireland in 1981-1982, where he conducted graduate studies at the Department of Irish Folklore, University College, Dublin, under the direction of Bo Almqvist (1931-2013). James was mentored by noted Swedish folklorist Sven Liljeblad (1899-2000), himself a student of the renowned Carl Wilhelm von Sydow (1878-1952).
In 2014, James was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. In 2015, he received the Rodman Paul Award for Outstanding Contributions to Mining History from the Mining History Association. In 2016 he was elected to the College of Bards of Gorsedh Kernow.
