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. Most of the acknowledged experts on this period are represented, joined by several new voices. Together they chart the development of cinema in Britain from its beginnings in the 1890s to the conversion to sound in the late 1920s. From these accounts the youthful British cinema emerges as far from innocent. On the contrary, it was a fascinatingly complex field of cultural and industrial practices. The book also includes guides to bibliographical and archival sources and an extensive bibliography.

Contributions by: Charles Barr, Stephen Bottomore, Neil Brand, Jon Burrows, Frank Gray, Jenny Hammerton, Michael Hammond, Sylvia Hardy, Andrew Higson, Nicholas Hiley, Alex Marlow-Mann, Luke McKernan, Roberta E. Pearson, Simon Popple, Lise Shapiro Sanders, Emma Sandon, Jamie Sexton, Gerry Turvey, Mike Walsh, Haidee Wasson, Michael Williams