What do you think?
Rate this book
Land of Shame and Glory: Britain 2021–22
A compelling account of the transformative changes Britain is facing today, exploring how we can build a post-COVID society.
2021 and 2022 were two of the most turbulent and disruptive years experienced by Britain in peacetime. Land of Shame and Britain 2021–22 addresses a series of unprecedented challenges that laid bare the fragility of Britain and the Union during this time. Beginning with the chaotic Fall of Kabul, which exposed Britain's military dependence on the United States, through the prolonged, unsatisfying removal of a prime minister—and the economically catastrophic, short-lived tenure of his successor—that further exposed the vulnerabilities of an unwritten constitution; to the country sweltering in record-breaking temperatures amid dire warnings of climate catastrophe; and finally, to the death of a much-loved monarch, who was a point of consistency during decades of tremendous social and technological change. Peter Hennessy considers the continuities and upheavals of the last seventy years, asking whether there can be said to have been a second Elizabethan Age and lamenting that the post-war period came to its close amid such upheaval and loss.
2021 and 2022 were two of the most turbulent and disruptive years experienced by Britain in peacetime. Land of Shame and Britain 2021–22 addresses a series of unprecedented challenges that laid bare the fragility of Britain and the Union during this time. Beginning with the chaotic Fall of Kabul, which exposed Britain's military dependence on the United States, through the prolonged, unsatisfying removal of a prime minister—and the economically catastrophic, short-lived tenure of his successor—that further exposed the vulnerabilities of an unwritten constitution; to the country sweltering in record-breaking temperatures amid dire warnings of climate catastrophe; and finally, to the death of a much-loved monarch, who was a point of consistency during decades of tremendous social and technological change. Peter Hennessy considers the continuities and upheavals of the last seventy years, asking whether there can be said to have been a second Elizabethan Age and lamenting that the post-war period came to its close amid such upheaval and loss.
220 pages, Hardcover
Published March 20, 2024
About the author
Peter Hennessy
62 books50 followersPeter Hennessy is an English historian and academic specialising in the history of government. Since 1992, he has been Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary University of London.
He was born in Edmonton, the youngest child of William G. Hennessy by his marriage to Edith (Wood-Johnson) Hennessy
Hennessy attended the nearby Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, and on Sundays he went to St Mary Magdalene church, where he was an altar boy. He was educated at St Benedict's School, an independent school in Ealing, West London. When his father's job led the family to move to the Cotswolds, he attended Marling School, a grammar school in Stroud, Gloucestershire. He went on to study at St John's College, Cambridge, where he was awarded a BA in 1969 and a PhD in 1990. Hennessy was a Kennedy Memorial Scholar at Harvard University from 1971 to 1972.
Hennessy went on to work as a journalist during the 1970s and 1980s.
He went on to co-found the Institute of Contemporary British History in 1986.
From 1992 to 2000, Hennessey was professor of contemporary history at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. From 1994 to 1997, he gave public lectures as Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College, London. From 2001, he has been Attlee professor of contemporary British history at Queen Mary.
Hennessy's analysis of post-war Britain, 'Never Again: Britain 1945–1951', won the Duff Cooper Prize in 1992 and the NCR Book Award in 1993.
Furthermore, his study of Britain in the 1950s and the rise of Harold Macmillan, 'Having It So Good: Britain in the 1950s', won the 2007 Orwell Prize for political writing
Hennessy was created a life peer on November 8, 2010.
He was born in Edmonton, the youngest child of William G. Hennessy by his marriage to Edith (Wood-Johnson) Hennessy
Hennessy attended the nearby Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, and on Sundays he went to St Mary Magdalene church, where he was an altar boy. He was educated at St Benedict's School, an independent school in Ealing, West London. When his father's job led the family to move to the Cotswolds, he attended Marling School, a grammar school in Stroud, Gloucestershire. He went on to study at St John's College, Cambridge, where he was awarded a BA in 1969 and a PhD in 1990. Hennessy was a Kennedy Memorial Scholar at Harvard University from 1971 to 1972.
Hennessy went on to work as a journalist during the 1970s and 1980s.
He went on to co-found the Institute of Contemporary British History in 1986.
From 1992 to 2000, Hennessey was professor of contemporary history at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. From 1994 to 1997, he gave public lectures as Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College, London. From 2001, he has been Attlee professor of contemporary British history at Queen Mary.
Hennessy's analysis of post-war Britain, 'Never Again: Britain 1945–1951', won the Duff Cooper Prize in 1992 and the NCR Book Award in 1993.
Furthermore, his study of Britain in the 1950s and the rise of Harold Macmillan, 'Having It So Good: Britain in the 1950s', won the 2007 Orwell Prize for political writing
Hennessy was created a life peer on November 8, 2010.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 28, 2026
A history book about recent history which is interesting and is a good reminder of what an awful person Boris Johnson was and continues to be.
December 10, 2025
I’ve always enjoyed Peter Hennessy’s books and enjoyed this one too. But, as largely a contemporaneous diary, I’m not sure it adds very much to our understanding of the tumultuous events of 2021/22, beyond providing a chronology with interesting commentary of a fairly extraordinary year.
Hennessy contrasts the chaos and lies of the Boris Johnson premiership with the probity of HM Queen Elizabeth II, and applies a savagery to his political assassination of Johnson which, while doubtless justified, does become somewhat repetitive - as does the increasingly saccharine and lachrymose lament for the lost Queen.
Hennessy struggles to uphold the ‘good chaps’ theory of government without a written constitution and, I think, ultimately but only tacitly admits defeat. He does not consider what constitutional arrangements could deal with a failing premier like Johnson, nor does he reach the conclusion that an effective head of state could be the answer. The unimpeachable Queen in these pages was not expected to intervene and did not - which could be read as an indictment of the institution and a reminder of the limits of even Elizabeth’s soft hard power. But Hennessy steers clear of any such reflections.
Early in the book there is considerable space devoted to the ongoing climate crisis which might more logically be central to our political concerns. Possibly Hennessy was considering this as he repeatedly flew back and forth to Orkney. But this theme peters out and is entirely absent from the conclusion which posits a particularly Elizabethan era - a periodisation which I think will look increasingly irrelevant to coming historians.
Hennessy contrasts the chaos and lies of the Boris Johnson premiership with the probity of HM Queen Elizabeth II, and applies a savagery to his political assassination of Johnson which, while doubtless justified, does become somewhat repetitive - as does the increasingly saccharine and lachrymose lament for the lost Queen.
Hennessy struggles to uphold the ‘good chaps’ theory of government without a written constitution and, I think, ultimately but only tacitly admits defeat. He does not consider what constitutional arrangements could deal with a failing premier like Johnson, nor does he reach the conclusion that an effective head of state could be the answer. The unimpeachable Queen in these pages was not expected to intervene and did not - which could be read as an indictment of the institution and a reminder of the limits of even Elizabeth’s soft hard power. But Hennessy steers clear of any such reflections.
Early in the book there is considerable space devoted to the ongoing climate crisis which might more logically be central to our political concerns. Possibly Hennessy was considering this as he repeatedly flew back and forth to Orkney. But this theme peters out and is entirely absent from the conclusion which posits a particularly Elizabethan era - a periodisation which I think will look increasingly irrelevant to coming historians.
January 9, 2025
Insights from Hennessy are always welcome. However, for me this relied too much on his diaries (reproduced at length), and therefore didn't possess those attributes that a good historian is best able to offer--stepping back and offering an analytical look at the big picture. Less reliance on the diaries in the text (if not for their ability to inform it), or perhaps another year of distance from these events, would have probably made for a better book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews