This book brings together the study of silent cinema and the study of British cinema, both of which have seen some of the most exciting developments in Film Studies in recent years. The result is a comprehensive survey of one of the most important periods of film history.

Andrew Higson is Professor of Film and Television at the University of York in the UK. He taught at the University of East Anglia from 1986 to 2008, where he was head of Film and Television Studies for several years. He has published widely on British cinema and on debates about national cinema. He is the author of English Heritage, English Cinema: Costume Drama Since 1980 (OUP, 2003) and Waving the Flag: Constructing a National Cinema in Britain (OUP, 1995); as editor, his books include British Cinema, Past and Present, co-edited with Justine Ashby (Routledge, 2000), and 'Film Europe' and 'Film America' Cinema, Commerce and Cultural Exchange, 1920-1939, co-edited with Richard Maltby(University of Exeter Press, 1999).