Advent 1 Non-Fiction

Now don't go saying that I never treat you. Today we open with a volume of non-fiction (well, two volumes to be precise, but they come as companion pieces) and you are offered the chance to read it free and gratis, courtesy of the open access section of the library of Birmingham City University. I make no recommendation of it but I confirm that I have this very year re-read it for the umpteenth time and, at the last count, I found six typographical and/or grammatical errors. I apologise for this for I am the author. This is the thesis that earned me my doctorate - Shakespeare and Bagehot  

I will save you the effort of reading my leaden prose and just give you the concluding paragraph which I hope conveys some idea of what the whole academic shenanigans is getting at: 

The future (as Harootunian reminds us) is part of history. Possibly we may discover, with Shakespeare's unparalleled insight, that there is a form of sovereignty beyond Bagehot's contemplation and yet still within an Age of Discussion. For now and for my own deliberately limited purpose, Bagehot's writing is an analytical tool we can profitably use. Within the confines of his own tragedy, Coriolanus is wrong when he asserts that for him, 'There is a world elsewhere' (3.3.159). We are more fortunate. Bagehot gives us the skills to understand where we have got to. Shakespeare may help unlock the future.