The sense of 'local' community was being lost. ... The British Empire, which had expanded under Queen Victoria and in 1900 had reached 13 million square miles, also began to disintegrate. ... This led to the rapid expansion of a largely unsophisticated literary public, the rise of the popular press, and the mass production of 'popular' literature for a semi-literate 'lowbrow' readership. By the time of the First World War there was a whole new generation of young soldiers who not only could read but, very important, were able for the first time in the history ...

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