This Sceptred Isle, Empire Box Set

This Sceptred Isle: Empire #1-3

by Christopher Lee

Britain had the biggest empire the world has ever known. Whatever the day, whatever the hour, somewhere on the globe, the empire worked and played the British game - often absurdly so. This work shows the history of exploration from the 16th century, but more importantly, from the mid-18th century to the period shortly before the First world War.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook

18 pages, Audio CD

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Christopher Lee was a British writer, historian, and broadcaster, best known for creating and writing the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 documentary series This Sceptred Isle. His career spanned journalism, academia, military service, and historical writing.
After an early life at sea, he studied history at London University before joining the BBC as a defence and foreign affairs correspondent, with postings in Moscow and the Middle East. He later transitioned into academia, becoming the first Quatercentenary Fellow in Contemporary History at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and conducting research at Birkbeck College. He also served in the Royal Navy's Joint Intelligence Reserve Branch, reaching the rank of captain.
Lee’s This Sceptred Isle, originally broadcast in 1995, chronicled British history from Roman times to the 20th century and was expanded with additional series covering the 20th century and the British Empire. His historical works include 1603, Nelson and Napoleon, and Monarchy, Past, Present… and Future?, as well as an abridgment of Winston Churchill's A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. He was also a prolific radio playwright, penning over 100 plays and series for BBC Radio 4.
Beyond writing, he served as a defence and foreign affairs adviser to the British Forces Broadcasting Service for 30 years and was involved in policy analysis.
He divided his time between Sussex and Florence, Italy, and was married to portrait painter Fiona Graham-Mackay. Lee passed away in 2021 at the age of 79.

Reviews

[Christine Parkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book as I wanted to learn more about the British empire, specifically their control of India. This e-book was very well documented and there was a LOT to take in, however it gave me an insight into Britain’s hold over a quarter of the world and I was amazed by how many countries they ruled at their peak. It is extremely long so I listened to it in 3 segments over 6 months. I would now like to read an historical fiction book about the East India Company and the Raj to find out more. Any suggestions welcome.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 1 out of 5]

a series of 90 short radio programmes about the history of the British Empire, narrated by Juliet Stevenson with additional voice work by Christopher Ecclestone, Anna Massey, Jack Davenport, and others, a sequel to the earlier This Sceptred Isle which dealt with the history of Britain in the same way.

I was a bit underwhelmed, to be honest. I suspect that the subject is too big to treat in this way; I had picked it up in the first place to listen to the bits about Ireland, which for the earlier period were fairly decent, but rather tailed off towards the end (Irish history apparently stopped in 1916), and the other ex-colonies I've dealt with professionally (Cyprus, Somaliland) were barely mentioned. The focus of the narrative was generally, though not always, on the effect that the colonies and colonised had on the British rather than the other way round. I was particularly frustrated by the sections about Warren Hastings, which lionised him as an innocent hero without making it terribly clear why he was anything more than a venal administrator set up by rivals in office politics who played hardball. Macaulay was much clearer (if more long-winded), but I missed really any Indian account of whether Hastings was any good.

There are also serious limitations to the straight narrative-with-actors style. Probably if I'd been listening to it at a rate of one instalment every day or so, rather than in bursts of several at a time, it might not have irritated me as much. But I've now started the more recent and excellent History Of The World In 100 Objects, and I'm stunned by how dull the format of Scepterd Isle is, in comparison. It would hardly have killed the producers to include, like, music, or even original sound tracks in the later period when they become available.

So, all in all, not really recommended listening.

[Laura]

This was a fascinating series of audiobooks based on a BBC Radio series. For anyone interested in Britian's rise to Empire it is a great introduction to the topic. I especially appreciated reading the British take on the relative value of their various colonies. I think we in the US see our defection as their greatest loss. This book left me with the very strong impression that our value was considerably less than several of their other colonies, especially India.

While the building of empires and colonization is rarely, if ever a positive thing in the long run, especially for those on the receiving end of the effort, when you look at all of the people and events affected over a long period of time, you can find moments of goodness and at least a few souls committed to doing the right thing. Of course these moments and souls are not near as interesting as the catastrophes, calamities and all around bad guys who make of the majority of any empire-building experience.

[Doug Riley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting treatment, difficult to read. The author originally wrote this for radio lectures and each chapter seems to be a separate independent program

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting history of the British Empire. I really enjoyed some of the first hand accounts from people involved.