The Spoils of Time: A History of the World from Earliest Times to the Sixteenth Century

by C.V. Wedgwood

A wonderfully bold and wide-ranging narrative of the world's defining events from the beginning of civilization to the early Renaissance. "Her style is a marvel of clarity. And, in sheer readability she is a match for any historian living or dead." -- J. H. Plumb, The Sunday Times .

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World History

399 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Dame (Cicely) Veronica Wedgwood OM DBE was an English historian who published under the name C. V. Wedgwood. Specializing in the history of 17th-century England and Continental Europe, her biographies and narrative histories "provided a clear, entertaining middle ground between popular and scholarly works."

Reviews

[Bruce Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dame C. V. Wedgwood was consumed by time’s teeth before she completed her summary of world history, leaving us with the first half, The Spoils of Time, which finishes around 1550 AD.
Even so, she spoils the reader by presenting such a delight. As A. L. Rouse put it ‘she wrote… to be read’. From the very beginning, we know we are in for a ride. Here she is on the Neanderthal: “He was a maker of bone tools, he clothed himself in skins carefully prepared, was familiar with the uses of fire, and buried the dead after eating their brains.”
She wrote this work for the most noble of reasons which she gives in her introduction: … 'feeling a desire for wider knowledge, I turned to world history.'
Elsewhere, in an introduction to a book of essays History and Hope, she wrote this: 'The enlargements of horizons, the rediscovery of ancient ways of thought, the unravelling of some intricate sequence of events, the successful guess at motives or intentions, the re-creation of a ‘landscape with figures’, the feeling of contact with the minds and personalities of hundreds of people who lived before us, these are some of the rewards of studying history which I have tried to share with others.'
Her great-great-great-grandfather, Josiah Wedgwood, was a famous ceramicist who left his mark on British pottery. Her carefully crafted sentences are reminiscent of his art. In an essay, she wrote: 'All sciences are devoted to the quest for truth; truth can neither be apprehended nor communicated without art. History therefore is an art, like all the other sciences.’
Although the work is not perfect—one wishes she had injected herself into the work a little more—it gives the mind much to chew on. In short, ditch Sapiens and spend some time spoiling yourself.

[Jerry Rabushka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. The last couple chapters jumped around a bit more that I'd have preferred, going from one war and invasion to another quickly. It's hard to keep track of which Charles or Henry is ruling which kingdom at which time. I like how she incorporates the whole world, India, China, etc, vs. only mentioning it when it comes into contact with European cultures. The more you read, the more you realize what you don't know.

[Carla]

This panoramic old-fashioned sweep through ancient history is readable,and the prose style, impeccable. I can’t say that it’s illuminating, as compared to the author’s more detailed treatment of The 30 Years War. Dante gets a paragraph, ancient Alexandria a few pages.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A massive chunk of human history (from several million B.C.E. to circa 1550), in less than 400 pages. Not sure whether Wedgwood can really pull it off, but her prose is authoritative and elegant enough to make it seem possible. The fact she wrote this instead of the unfinished third part of her (English) Civil War trilogy somewhat grates, though.

(Entertainingly, the only cousin to this in ambition that I can think of is the Cartoon History of the Universe, which has similar scope and, probably, word- if not page-count).

UPDATE: Now that I'm finished, I'm not sure Wedgwood manages to pull it off; it manages to hit about all the notes you'd expect such a history to hit, and the prose certainly a pleasure to read, but the compromises inherent in the format she's chosen prevent her from exercising her most impressive gifts: her acute psychological portraits, her mastery of the primary sources, and her ability to sift through a myriad of a historical event's complex causes -- the later certainly gets deployed, but due to the overwhelming brevity her judgments sometimes come off a bit more cut and dried and conclusory than they should.

The other major defect is that it doesn't have very many notes or a good bibliography, which is usually the saving grace of the broad overview -- if you're interested in delving into something the author skimmed over, it's nice to have a guide to what you should read next (this is something the Cartoon Histories are quite good at, by the way).

All in all a fun read, certainly more enjoyable than an encyclopedia (and far better written than Wikipedia, go figure), but as I said above, it's hard not to be disappointed that Wedgwood ended her career with this, rather than being able to finish the Civil War trilogy.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wedgwood was a prominent historian whose specialty was medieval England, and who at the end of her career decided to teach herself context by writing an emminently readable history of the world from the beginning of humanity to the 16th century. The book covers Europe in most detail, as that is where the most surviving records exist, but she gives plenty on Egypt, the Middle East, India, and China, with good bits about Japan, the Americas, and Africa. In many ways, the book is a narrative of endless ebbing and flowing of power, punctuated by relentless and brutal warfare and needless deaths - you know, the human condition. But Wedgwood is always careful to point out the good as well as the bad, giving us a history of achievement as well as punishment.

[Blynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

On of the best History books for people who don't think they like history books. Written in a light yet informative style, The Spoils of Time can't help but wet your appetite, for more History. Highly recommended.