A History Of Britain

by Simon Schama, Timothy West (Narrator)

Britain never had the kind of revolution experienced by France in 1789, but it did come close. In the mid-1770s the country was intoxicated by a great surge of political energy. Re-discovering England's wildernesses, the intellectuals of the "Romantic generation" also discovered the plight of the common man, turning Nature into a revolutionary force. This power of the cult of nature enabled two things - to make man see and explore Britain in a way unimaginable a generation before, and to pit democrat cosmopolitans against patriots. From the politics of wildness, "A History of Britain" moves to the Victorian era and its question of how to create a better world in the face of upheaval. As the Victorian era began, the massive advance of technology and industrialisation was rapidly reshaping both the landscape and the social structure of the whole country. To a much greater extent than ever before women would take a centre stage role in shaping society.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Sir Simon Michael Schama is an English historian and television presenter. He specialises in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University.

Schama first came to public attention with his history of the French Revolution titled Citizens, published in 1989. He is also known for writing and hosting the 15-part BBC television documentary series A History of Britain (2000—2002), as well as other documentary series such as The American Future: A History (2008) and The Story of the Jews (2013).

Schama was knighted in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Reviews

[Toons · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brisk walk through British history with an erudite historian makes me wonder how schools can make history boring. If, like me, a chronological ordering of the key points in British history helps, then this book is for you. Travelling in the broken tardis of school history absolutely baffled me, one week Romans, next week Henry 8th, left me with no concept of time. Lovely bedtime book, as it can be taken in nice accessible chunks.

[Marje · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook and was thoroughly charmed. I so respect Simon Schama ... his books and history programs.

[John Poulain · Rating 2 out of 5]

A whistle-stop tour of some of the more popular British history stories, jumping from Alfred the Great to 1066 (then backtracking so he could explain who all the players were) skipping the war of the roses for being "complicated" and spending a great deal of time on the sexual politics of the Tudors. 20% of Tudor brides were pregnant on their wedding day and given the low rates of conception how many were doing it.

Some interesting quotes "victory and life or death and honour"

Welsh (Lords of Snowden )- Even if their king swore feality, they would refuse homage to any foreigner who s language laws and customs they did not know.

Scots (arbroath) as long as 100 are alive we will not be under English rule

Irish - On account of the endless perfidity of the English and to shake off the hard yoke of them the Irish barons are compelled to enter a deadly war.

And the casual sexism and racism of the past: od allowing a second woman to rule England must be him testing his ability to work miracles; All of England celebrating the QE2 coronation "the peaceful evolution of backwards races around the empire under English leadership"

[Romana Challans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous marvelous series. Worth the wade through.

[Chris The Story Reading Ape · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtaking in scope and highly informative, the TV series only scratched the surface.