What did the Edwardian British think about the British Empire? Was the Empire a ubiquitous presence that reinforced comforting ideas of British superiority? Or was the attraction of imperialism more restricted? This presentation explores these questions and considers why historians come to such different conclusions. It pays particular attention to the attitudes of British youth, and asks whether evidence generated by British schools, educationalists, authors and students themselves offers anything approaching a conclusive answer to the major question of how the British perceived their Empire.