English History Made Brief, Irreverent and Pleasurable

by Lacey Baldwin Smith

Here at last is a history of England that is designed to entertain as well as inform and that will delight the armchair traveler, the tourist or just about anyone interested in history. No people have engendered quite so much acclaim or earned so much censure as the extolled as the Athenians of modern times, yet hammered for their self-satisfaction and hypocrisy. But their history has been a spectacular one.

 

The guiding principle of this book's heretical approach is that "history is not everything that happened, but what is worth remembering about the past.. . .". Thus, its chapters deal mainly with "Memorable History" in blocks of time over the centuries. The final chapter "The Royal Soap Opera," recounts the achievements, personalities and idiocies of the royal family since the arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066. Spiced with dozens of hilarious cartoons from Punch and other publications, English History will be a welcome and amusing tour of a land that has always fascinated Anglophiles and Anglophobes alike.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Historical, Humor, British Literature, Reference

262 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Lacey Baldwin Smith was an historian and author specializing in 16th century England. He was the author of Henry VIII: The Mask of Royalty and Catherine Howard: A Tudor Tragedy, among other books.

Born in Princeton, New Jersey, Smith taught at Princeton University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northwestern University. He received two Fulbright awards, two National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and other awards.He was considered one of the “big name” historians, yet his writing was considered to be as entertaining as it was erudite. He lived in Vermont during his retirement, dying at Greensboro at the age of 90.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1972.

Reviews

[Peter Colclasure · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a whole book about the entire history of England. Now I’m an expert. Here’s what you need to know:

10,000 BC - 0:
Stonehenge

43 - 410:
Romans

410 - 1066:
Fog and mystery. Maybe Arthur.

1066 - 1500:
Did you see Braveheart? That happened. The rest was kind of like Game of Thrones but without dragons.

1500 - 1600 (roughly):
Henry VIII and Elizabeth and Shakespeare. I remember them from history class. Did you know that Henry VIII played tennis? And Elizabeth is also Cate Blanchett.

1600 - 1850:
There are Tudors and Stuarts and a Civil War that didn’t involve Abraham Lincoln. They colonize North American and then lose it.

1850 - 1901:
Victoria reigns: steam punk, Jack the Ripper, and sexual prudery.

1901 - 1950:
Downton Abbey, Hitler

1950 - present:
Beatles, Princess Diana, Hugh Grant

———————————————

There’s an old quote that “history is just one damn thing after another.” Anyone who was bored by history class probably agrees. In order to love history, you have to see it less as a succession of events and more as a chain of cause and effect. You have to see the contingency. And you have to look for a good story.

I think if you’re interested in a particular era of history, it’s better to start with something small and specific and work your way up, rather than start with the big picture and work your way down. Rather than reading Shelby Foote’s three volume history of the Civil War, start with a book about the battle of Gettysburg. Rather than read an entire book about World War II, read a book about D-Day. Rather than an entire history of England, read 1066: The Year of the Conquest, by David Howarth.

The problem with the sweeping panorama approach to history is that it devolves into one damn thing after another. There are about 3,874 monarchs, and they are all named James, William, or Edward. It’s tough keeping them straight. Particularly convoluted was the 1600s, the ugly middle-child of British history, post Elizabethan era, but pre-American Revolution. The 1600s basically goes: king - civil war - Oliver Cromwell - king again. And something about Catholics and Protestants.

I think this would be a great book if you're already well versed in British history and wanted a refresher course. I really enjoyed the parts that dealt with history I already knew, like the Norman Invasion and Henry VIII. A lot of the other parts, like the Glorious Revolution, were dry and confusing. I had no foreknowledge to bring to the table, and the material presented here was too brief and irreverent to make anything stick. Truth in advertising, I suppose.

The Middle Ages were vicious and cruel. Do you remember Braveheart? The king in that movie is Edward I. His son, Edward II, is depicted as a prancing, effete homosexual. Edward II was almost certainly gay, despite impregnating his wife with Edward III, and he was also an incompetent, psychotic king. He was eventually assassinated by having a red hot iron poker shoved up through a funnel into his rectum, destroying his intestines but leaving no visible sign of foul play. I'll leave you with that cheerful fact.

[Checkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little primer that covers the highlights in British history. Intended as an introduction for lower level university students and ,perhaps, for tourists (I can picture this for sale in gift shops). Nevertheless it's still an informative read for even the most veteran British history buff in my opinion. For example Professor Smith does a very good job explaining exactly why England had to adopt such severe austerity measures after World War II ended. Far harsher than what the country experienced during the war.I have numerous textbooks at home from my college days that never really do provide a concise explanation.Making the complex understandable is the mark of a good teacher.Looking over Professor Smith's credentials leads me to believe he was a very good teacher of history.

In addition to being surprisingly informative Professor Smith scatters obsevations about the British and their culture throughout the book which has the effect of making the history lesson more personal. I was given this book by my daughter at the end of her freshman year in college. She advised me that even though I have a degree in history I might like this book. Skeptical at first I gave it a read and I have to say she was right. Proof that one can learn something new from almost anything or anyone. The secret is to not be a snob and keep an open mind.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll give it irreverent, but not as brief as expected, and like so many accounts of English history, devolved into a list of kings and queens. Pleasurable is also stretching it - there were some interesting passages, particularly in the section in which the Industrial Revolution is discussed, but not nearly enough to make it feel like more than a slightly glorified Cliffs Notes with more than a whiff of sexism. (The author has little positive to say about any queen from Boadicea on, or indeed any woman mentioned except Florence Nightingale.)

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delightful read on English history. The author made promises in the title and delivered all and extra. I learned so much and have a clearer picture of events in timelines of British history. I highly recommend!

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I hadn't read Smith's Goodreads bio and seen that apparently he was well respected in the field, I would have assumed that he was some pop-history hack. His bias for all things English is awkward even for this Anglophile. For example, in describing the effects of the restrictions placed on the Scottish people after Culloden, he jokes that bagpipes sound bad anyway, so the outlawing of them is no great travesty.

This book was nowhere near as pleasurable as promised, and I'm not really sure who its ideal audience is. For those who aren't familiar with British history, it glosses over or assumes they know a lot of things, like Henry VIII's wives. But for those who do know their history, it adds very little to their understanding.

The organization feels haphazard. Jumping back and forth in time doesn't particularly help someone new to the topic keep the facts straight. The final chapter with its review of the monarchs in order was easily the best--an expanded version of this is what the book should have been.

[Colin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must admit, it may be my fault that I didn't enjoy this book. I am a lover of history in general and English history in particular. Based on the title, I assumed this would be a humorous examination of the major events of British history. To my dismay it was more like basic English history for impatient or busy people. Even some of the biggest moments of historical import are compacted to the point of trivialization. At the same time, calling this book irreverent is akin to calling the comedy styles of Carrot Top irreverent--a stretch by even the most liberal and subjective definition. To be fair, the book gives a highly compact retelling of English history suitable for anyone unfamiliar with the topic who wants a fairly accessible entry point. For anyone else, I suspect you will find it far too brief, not noticeably irreverent, and mostly unpleasant.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too brief really, although just irreverent enough and mostly pleasurable, Lacey Baldwin Smith's cheeky history of England was a nice diversion, and a decent place to get an x-ray at the mouldy bones of England's Empire, but it's a blurry and not terribly informative x-ray. I suppose that's okay, though, because what else would one expect from a book entitled English History Made Brief, Irreverent and Pleasurable.

The book elicited a few guffaws, and more than a few groans (especially when Dr. Smith tries to convince his readers that Margaret Thatcher really wasn't that bad and that her time as Prime Minister was actually fairly golden), yet it planted an interest in me for more than a few slightly obscure figures in English history that should nudge me into future research.

The strongest chapters of Dr. Smith's English History Made Brief, Irreverent and Pleasurable, and decidedly the most pleasurable, are his mini-bios of all the Kings and Queens that have been. It's a shame, really, that he didn't live to see the coronation of King Charles III (whose ecological stances and divorce caused Dr. Smith much consternation) because that chapter -- especially with Dr. Smith's requisite reaction to Prince Harry's Spare would have been priceless.

Still, it was well worth a listen while I was busy doing the dishes or playing Eleanor of Aquitaine in Sid Meyer's Civilization VI.

[Suzanne Gert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty, irreverent, cogent, and comprehensive. A great read for Anglophiles and those who would just like to better their Medieval England scores on Jeopardy!

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

First 3/4 of the book: English history from Stonehenge to the end of WWII, omitting quite a lot of important stuff.

Author: Well, that's the important stuff, the rest isn't that important.

Remaining 1/4 of the book: 1945 to now in quite some detail, including irrelevant stuff like which Royal divorced whom, followed by a ruler-by-ruler account of the monarchy starting with William the I.

Ooookay.

But big thumbs up for providing one of the most concise explanations of the Civil War I've ever read.

[Corey Butler · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is only slightly irreverent, and not that pleasurable. The author succeeds on "brevity," though this is actually the key weakness of the work. There is just too much English history to cover in a small volume like this. As a consequence, the book reads like an outline, without enough depth to really say much.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very very basic. I don't know what I was expecting from the title, but I learned very little new from this book. The exception being the chapter about the past 50 years, but it was so brief that it left me unsatisfied. Great for anyone who gets confused on the order of kings, events, and such.

[Rusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve complained/confessed intermittently over the years of my embarrassing lack of knowledge regarding the history of England. I figured it was time to finally put a bit of an effort into knowing at least a bit more. I am, after all, living in a British Overseas Territory and living in a country who has a governor appointing by the Queen… or something, I’m actually fuzzy on that part.

Regardless, this book.

How do I feel about it after the reading? Well, I’m not sure I know much more. Let me try to sum up.

There were some people living in England in prehistory. I think there may have been more than one group, can’t remember, they built Stonehenge. Then the Romans invaded. Then Vikings, then more Vikings (a few generations later), then more Vikings? Can’t recall, then the French (or whatever they were being called at the time, but might have been Vikings that just settled on the other side of channel for a while before invading).

At some point rulers started having names. Then the murders began. It was like reading the bible. So-and-so was bad, killed everyone around, then was murdered by his son/wife/uncle/nephew etc., who was in turn murdered weeks later by a surviving family members that disagreed with that murder, then there was a purge of everyone loyal to the one king that reigned for two weeks, then after that purge was done, the new king was murdered.

I mean, it goes on like that over and over. At one point, the author said something like, ‘for century x the number of murders and kings is too long, there is a list in the appendix.’ Then the author skips that century in order to move on to something else.

So, yay, a lot of that. Occasionally I’d catch something about Elizabeth, or one of the Henrys, or a George… but mostly, it’s incomprehensibly dense lists of murdered would-be tyrants.

How it turned into a representative government eventually become clear, something do with lords forcing the king, under threat of death, to seek their council before doing something rash, like wanton murders. Then a slow slide into something like what we have today.

Was in interesting? No, probably not. Or at best, it was nominally interesting.

Did I learn anything? If you consider was I wrote above ‘knowledge’ then sure. But honestly, probably not.

I’ll try again at some point, but maybe with a smaller chunk of time instead of the whole history of the nation.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick overview of English history. There is some humor and irreverence in it, but mercifully, not too much... just enough to make me smile. It also tries to avoid too much controversy. For example, the author could have hit Margaret Thatcher hard and cast her in a bad light. Instead, the author simply reported on what others thought of her, and didn't get too critical. My general sense was that the author didn't like her, but was attempting to be objective.

Of course, in a summary like this choices must be made as to what to include and what to leave out. There is always a temptation to downplay some things and overplay others. I think the author struck a good balance.

I might read this book again.

[Cold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delivers exactly what it promises. A very concise history that focuses on the big picture, rather than historical details.

I still don't really understand English history. So many parts are hard to place, or easy to confuse (e.g. William the conquerer vs William of Normandy or all the damn kings and queens). The slow development of parliament/non-autocratic rule is interesting (e.g. Magna Carta, civil war, higher chamber having powers gutted etc) but I'd still struggle to confidentially date and of that.

Does any of it help to understand modern England? I don't know.

[Cookie M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version. I found it amusing and somewhat informative, but confusing. It jumped around a lot and I find myself a bit mixed up on all the King Jameses. The fact that at least one of them switched from Protestant to Catholic or vice versa or they tried to force him to quit doesn't help my quandry. About that time all my ancestors left England anyway, so I guess it makes no difference to me.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title sums it up. I enjoyed this book.

[Brit · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was very interesting, but poorly put together. The last two chapters were summaries of the various kings & queens which would have been better integrated into the overall text.

[John Blumenthal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some interesting information written in an engaging style but there were just too many kings and queens and they took up 2 lengthy chapters. I should have known that prior to reading it. My bad.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest and witty, full of the contexts and connections we didn't learn in school.

[Ella T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was definitely brief and irreverent. Unfortunately, it wasn't pleasurable.

[Matt Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit out of date now and leans a bit rightward on economic issues for me

[John Beckett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be a good overview of English royalty put into the perspectives of the the times of the monarchs.

[Paul Figg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Occasionally entertaining, but SO many irritating errors.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lovely little history ‘book’ and does exactly what it says on the tin. I enjoyed what I would call the highlights of history here, a great lightweight overview of our history told in a down to earth and simple way. Well done, it was actually quite fun!

[Suzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, brief...

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining look at English history. A bit dry in spots but overall very informative.

[David Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite Quote = “I know why the sun never sets on the British Empire: God wouldn't trust an Englishman in the dark.” - John Duncan Spaeth

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun overview of English history.

Is it brief? Just compare the scale of the subject with the length of the book. Considering all that could be written about it, and many volumes have, this is barely a pamphlet.

Is it irreverent? Sure, I guess, considering that, despite the name, the author is an elderly gentleman whose humor may not translate perfectly for younger people.

Is it pleasurable? Well, speaking as a middle-aged dude who loves to visit the past and learn about the interesting people who live there and the fascinating things they did, I'd say yes. If that isn't your thing, you might not agree but, then, that begs the question of why you picked up this book in the first place. Opinions may vary but I call it pleasurable.

All in all, this is a great introduction to English history for a novice. I myself, despite having read many other books about one part or other of the story, still learned quite a bit from this one. There are always new things to learn and if you ever lose sight of that then I probably won't come visit you in your long, slow, depressing, anger-filled decline into boredom and confusion.

[Steve Alcorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately not brief enough nor pleasurable enough.

I guess I was expecting more irreverence, too. It's mostly just a dry recitation of dates and people, without a lot of insight into the meaning behind it all. Then, oddly, it seems to be coming to a conclusion in the late 20th century, only to feel as if another chapter was tacked on to bring it up to date. This chapter feels more like political commentary than history.

Then yet another chapter starts and OMG we're back going through an even more tedious recitation of EVERY single bloodthirsty monarch from the very start. Why is this repeated? No idea. But there must be more to history than who killed who for the top spot each year,

[Alexander Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a good encapsulation if the major milestones in British history. it does tend to focus on politics and monarchs and focuses slightly less on the artistic, cultural and scientific advances of Britain. it is also very London centric never really branching out to the industrial centers of Liverpool and Manchester. There is some good points on Ireland and Scotland, but like usual whales is generally ignored.

The narrator is spot on. keeping up a brisk pace while adding just the right inflection to convey genuine British humour. I would have liked to have met a few more of the cultural personalities during each period.