Elizabethans: How Modern Britain Was Forged

by Andrew Marr

The Sunday Times bestseller
Now a major BBC TV series presented by Andrew Marr

David Attenborough. Marcus Rashford. Jan Morris. Diana Dors. Bob Geldof. David Olusoga. Elizabeth David. Zaha Hadid. Frank Crichlow. Quentin Crisp. Dusty Springfield. Captain Tom.

Who made modern Britain the country it is today? How do we sum up the kind of people we are? What does it mean to be the new Elizabethans?

In this wonderfully told history, spanning back to when Queen Elizabeth became queen in 1953, Andrew Marr traces the people who have made Britain the country it is today. From the activists to the artists, the sports heroes to the innovators, these people pushed us forward, changed the conversation, encouraged us to eat better, to sing, think and to protest. They got things done. How will our generation be remembered in a hundred years’ time? And when you look back at Britain’s toughest moments in the past seventy years, what do you learn about its people and its values?

In brilliantly entertaining style and with unexpected insights into some of our sung and unsung heroes, Andrew Marr offers up a first draft of the history we are all living. This is our story as the new Elizabethans – the story of how 1950s Britain evolved into the diverse country we live in today. In short, it is the history of modern Britain.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, 20th Century, Politics, Historical

512 pages, Hardcover

Published January 19, 2021

About the author

Andrew Marr is a Scottish journalist. He is a graduate of Cambridge University and has had a long career in political journalism, working for the Scotsman, The Independent, The Economist, the Express and the Observer. From 2000 to 2005 he was the BBC's Political Editor. His broadcasting includes series on contemporary thinkers for BBC 2 and Radio 4, political documentaries for Channel 4 and BBC Panorama, and Radio 4's Start The Week'.

Reviews

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

selle lugemiselamuse võiks vast kokku võtta nii: tulin Freddie Mercury pärast, jäin Jimmy Reidi pärast.

tõesti peab tunnistama, et vajutasin e-raamatukogus raamatu broneerimisnuppu kohe, kui nägin kaanel ikoonilist Freddie pilti, selja tagant paistmas Marcus Rashford ja Winston Churchill, ja pealkiri lubamas, et räägitakse kuninganna Elizabeth II aegsetest brittidest (kas "elisabetaanid" on sõna? kui "viktoriaanid" ju paistab olevat?). tundus, et haare on piisavalt lai, nii ajalises kui tegelaste mitmekesisuse mõttes.

ja ma sain siit tõesti nii palju teada - konkreetsete inimeste lugude kaudu seletab Marr väga mõnusasti ära, miks ja kuidas on Suurbritannia eelmise sajandi keskpaigast saadik muutunud või samaks jäänud. ma ei tea, kas see on väga huvitav kellelegi, kes selles riigis ise ei ela, aga mulle oli mitmes mõttes silmiavav.

see Jimmy Reidi lugu? jah, kõik oleme ju kuulnud Thatcheri-aegsetest kaevurite streikidest - aga kes teadis, et seitsmekümnendate alguses võtsid šoti laevaehitajad oma tehased üle, tõstsid juhtkonna välja ja pidasid seitse kuud põhimõtteliselt kommunistlikku ettevõtet, seejuures palgata töötades ja (küll vist mitte vaidlusteta) tellimusi täites? püsti püsis see tsirkus annetuste toel (nt biitlitelt, aga ka N Liidu ametiühingutelt). lõpuks andis Edward Heathi valitsus alla ja jätkas selle täiesti kahjumliku äri riiklikku subsideerimist. ja Jimmy Reid oli selle kõige juht (ja omaette v huvitav inimene, kellest tahaks kohe rohkemgi juurde lugeda). aga kes britte natukegi tunneb, arvab vbla isegi ära, et just see juhtum aitas Thatcherile teed sillutada, sest toorid leidsid, et Heath ei ole piisavalt kindlakäeline juht. nojah. ühesõnaga, minu jaoks oli see kõige põnevam koht siin raamatus, sest tundus korraga väga uus ja väga oluline teadmine, millest ma isegi ei teadnud, et see mul puudu oli.

aga lisaks obskuursetele eelmise sajandi poliitikutele (keda ikka mõned on) räägitakse biitlitest ja Poshist ja Becksist, Zaha Hadidist ja James Dysonist, Mumsnetist ja Lara Croftist, sellest, mida britid ehitanud ja leiutanud on ja miks nad sellest hoolimata (enam) suurt midagi toota ei suuda (kuigi. selgub, et Raspberry Pi tootmine toimub täies ulatuses Walesis. seda ma küll ei oleks arvanud), impeeriumist ja Brexitist muidugi ka.

peatükid on meeldivalt lühikesed (mõned isegi väga lühikesed), tekst mõnusalt loetav. minu meelest suurepärane lähiajalooraamat.

[Robin Newbold · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Marr's A History of Modern Britain and was very impressed, having also watched the TV series. But Elizabethans just seems to be cashing in on past successes. This is history by numbers and incredibly random ie there are chapters on the likes of Bob Geldof and Clive Sinclair. Really?!

The whole thing added up to a very scant assessment of the people who have shaped Britain since Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne in the 1950s. I have not seen the TV series but the book seems a pretty lazy repackaging of that. Most chapters are barely longer than about four pages and hardly scratch the surface.

In a hilarious rant in the first part of the book, Marr bemoans the dumbing down of the press but that is exactly what this book could be accused of. It is mostly style over substance and to have a penultimate chapter on David and Victoria Beckham just illustrates the many failings. This is not a serious attempt at assessing the last 70 years and instead seems a cynical exercise in marketing.

[Amanda Youngs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It's basically a social history of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II in Great Britain. But that is such a simplistic sentence for a book that is complex and fascinating, and for the most part, well-researched and thoroughly put together.

I would recommend it highly - especially to young people (millenials, perhaps) - but to anyone who has lived during the time of this Queen's reign, because the world has changed so much during the past 70 or so years, and even those of us who were there for much of the time will find much to learn or to be reminded of as we read it.

This book was something I was required to read for work but it was an absolute joy to read, even though Andrew Marr doesn't sugar coat some of the things the British have been responsible for in our past and present. But read it! I don't know what it will cost when it's published but it will be worth every penny. A fascinating read that was hard to put down, even for meals.

[Fran Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

last Marr book for a while i think!! i did enjoy this book though, I thought it was good thematically, and interesting in points made about the influence and clash of cultures being much more from American culture than from European culture. tracked through was the relationship between britain and europe and britain in her world standing, and how the waning commonwealth impacted the makeup and attitudes within the country. i thought it was interesting how people centered it was, and though i dont agree with Marr on much politically and think his work veers off history due to his background not being that of a historian, i nevertheless enjoyed it and didnt notice quite how long it was.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This upended my expectations. I was thinking this would be an easy-breezy pop culture piece of history. Instead, I discovered a thoughtful work that compares where Britain (and much of the world) was in 1952 to what it has become at the dawn of the COVID pandemic...both for good and for ill. While the final third of the book regarding "work" doesn't sing with the same elegiac tone as the previous sections, this is a surprisingly melancholy look at the cycle of past-present-future...and it makes some gentle but pointed observations. Highly recommended.

[Stacey Mckeogh · Rating 5 out of 5]

When i first started this one i didn't know if i would stick with it, it felt a little bit to political and i felt a bit underwhelmed by it.....but i'm so glad i stuck with it as this is a brilliant exploration into the massive changes that took place in British society during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
This book has everything, it feels nostalgic while teaching us a lot about our history that we may not have noticed having lived through it.
This period of time saw a huge amount of change in all parts of people's lives and lends itself to a really interesting write up.

[Gracie Quinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book provided much needed extra reading and context for my British history course and highlighted many key, but lesser known, individuals who will be especially useful to reference in essays. I struggled grasping some of the parts about the ship building, mostly because it’s not something I’m well educated in or find particularly interesting. However this book was laced with many illuminating anecdotes from our history and posed questions I’d never considered previously.

I will be rereading this and watching the accompanying bbc documentaries some time over the next year, to solidify the various things that I have discovered from this book.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very accessibly written modern history which is basically summarised as; “Once we were a big deal, now we’re a little bit rubbish, it’s just that no one wants to realise it.” Which is the most British thing I can think of.

[Ian Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read, well researched and well written.

[Cathy Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big book covering a big era. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Covering the reign of our queen, Andrew explores politics, social events, technological advances and society and showing its impact on the way we in Britain live today. It’s an evolving story and when you read Andrew’s take on events it makes a lot of sense of the world we live in today.
While enjoying it immensely the one thing I couldn’t get past was referring to the Queen and David Attenborough in the past tense. I know he has to future proof the book but for me, I didn’t like it.
Nevertheless this book brings modern history to life in a lively interesting manner!!

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed seeing how Britain has changed over the last 75 years.

I'll definitely be going off to explore some of these stories in more detail.

[Dave Appleby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taking as his frame the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, Andrew Marr attempts to draw a portrait of the UK, using many little biographies of those whom he considers to be the most influential change-makers, changing the 'culture' of Britain.

He makes two important points.

Many of the social changes of modern society were heralded in important legislative changes (though he doesn't really give the credit to the revolutionary Labour government of 1964 - 1970).
The culture of a society depends on how (and even if) we work so that the huge workplaces of the 1950s in which massive factories produced a vast amount of manufactured goods had a major effect on how the people of the time thought, and that our post-industrial society must inevitably think differently.
But his choice of biographies is inevitably biased. He includes many politicians and activists but very few scientists. He repeatedly talks about the massive societal changes wrought by the technological revolution and he includes Clive Sinclair and the inventor of the Raspberry Pi but not Tim Berners-Lee and nobody from the biological and medical sciences (save Francis Crick, in passing) so the incredible changes in health-care caused by the discovery of DNA seems to have passed him by. David Attenborough is there, of course, but what of the British Scientists who spotted the hole in the Ozone Layer and brought about a world-wdie reductions in CFCs, not to mention James Lovelock and his Gaia hypothesis which heralded concerns about climate change. Surely the last seventy years have been dominated by science; perhaps Marr doesn't really understand science and that is why he fought shy of it.

There are a lot of entrepreneurs and businesspeople which is odd because he criticizes our obsession with 'The Market': “We have become an increasingly market-saturated society. Relentless consumers, we are schooled to see most of our human exchanges in terms of price and profit. We measure success by wealth.” (Ch 62)

But what about the arts? Pop Music gets a mention (Freddy Mercury, the Beatles, Victoria Beckham, Bob Geldoff) but literature doesn't (no mention of British-resident Nobel Laureates such as Harold Pinter, Doris Lessing, Kazuo Ishiguro, William Golding or Abdulrazak Gurnah). It can't be that he thinks that literature doesn't influence modern culture or why would he mention the Eagle magazine and encourage us, in the last chapter, to read? Perhaps even more shockingly, he doesn't mention TV soap operas except in passing: the man who invented Coronation Street surely had a huge influence on how we think about issues.

It's well-written and interesting but I thought that it was limited, biased and flawed.

[Gavin Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this to be a very uneven read. On the positive side, I always enjoy Andrew Marr's clear, concise prose. He has a knack for laying out chronologies of complicated events in an engaging manner. Tonally, Marr is also adept at describing political events without allowing personal bias or morality to colour the text. It is good, objective, journalistic writing and I wish there were more of it around these days. However, that leads into my main criticism of Elizabethans...; unfortunately, it suffers from many of the failings of modern journalism. There is a profound lack of investigation here. Overall, the book reads like a summary of 70 years' worth of newspaper front pages, and rarely seems to question whether those views should be taken at face value or if they are truly representative of the majority of the UK population. As he has in other books, Marr again focuses too much on Whitehall and Fleet Street, only rarely bothering to interest himself in what might be going on in the rest of the society, and even then, only when those events manage to grow "important" enough to catch the eye of London-based newspapermen. The overall effect feels like a history based on the common or received wisdom (and maybe a little wishful thinking) of a couple of generations of broadsheet journalists and this leads to a constant feeling of only being told half a story. Many interesting topics are touched on, but only touched on; class politics, LGBTQ+ rights, Brexit, the "death" of British manufacturing. All of these issues are clearly key to what Britain was, what it is now, and what it will be in the future, but they are all discussed through the lens of a comfortable Fleet Street office and there is almost no voice given to the working class, actual LGBTQ+ people, Brexit remainers or rejoiners. Instead, we are simply shown examples of prominent representatives of these groups, largely wealthy and politically active ones. Some of the chapters are almost comically short, where a famous celebrity is brought up as somehow exemplary of a social issue or change, but then we quickly move on. Presumably, just mentioning a name is supposed to jog our memories. The Freddie Mercury chapter is a particular offender in this regard, since there are so many obvious avenues for investigation in his story. A fairly openly gay man leading the biggest rock band of his day and dying of AIDS, how was Mercury seen by the people buying Queen's albums? Were they unaware he was gay? Were they perfectly aware but just not that bothered? Did some fans turn away from the band on his death? These are all relevant questions to consider if we want to assess the changes (or lack of) in British attitudes to LGBTQ+ issues, and Mercury does stand out as a pivotal figure in that regard. However, we get three or four very perfunctory pages before moving on to the next topic. I guess there was nothing in the Times' microfiche on those questions, eh?

I suppose a lot of these structural issues are partly because Elizabethans... is a tie-in to a TV series. I haven't seen the series so can't really comment on whether or not the book and series inform each other or simply share the same flaws. Standing alone, though, Elizabethans... seems to lack a clear focus and feels like a mixture of patrician orthodox history and baby boomer nostalgia. Neither is to the book's credit.

[Chris Jaffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book. There isn't any overall narrative - but a series of really brief chapters (the large majority under 10 pages. I don't think a single one gets to 15 pages) on England over the last nearly 70 years. There's an assumption of knowledge on the part of the reader that I'm sure works better for a British audience than an American like me. Marr mostly talks cultural history, though with some business and actual politics thrown in as well. You get interesting insights into everything from '50s sex bomb Diana Dors, to the Scottish communist movement of the early 1970s. It's good, but feels like it's missing a skeleton. Also, one of the only things in it that I new a lot about had some factual problems (a chapter on the Beatles claimed that George grew up extremely poor. No, that was Ringo. The entire chapter felt like he didn't know as much about the topic as it projected, but was just getting on with it to make a point). One big oversight: no J. K. Rowling, who would've fit in extremely well here.

[Dave Allan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was a thoroughly enjoyable read, much better than a couple of his recent books.
He dips in and out of events over tha last, well nearly 70 years. I find that much more entertaining than a full on discussion of what's been happening during the reign of QEII.

The constant reminder of positive outcomes is a strong contrast to the modern day delight in looking at failure and mistakes rather than what we got right.

I think it's a book I'll pass onto my younger friends (in their twenties) to let them see many of the things that happened during the reign of this monarch. Wow we're in a much better place than we were 70 years ago. I can only hope that we make as much progress over the next 70 years.

I'm very much a person who wished they could live another 100 years to see the enhancements and positive progress we make in the world and think this book is excellent at highlighting the enhancements and progress we've made in the last 70 years.

[Becky Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 2020 at the height of Corona, Coulston and Brexit, this is a current history of Britain during the reign of Elizabeth II.
Thematically broad, Marr explores British politics, demographics, industry as well as contributions to art, science and culture.
He tells the story of the people of Britain through biographies. Some are very brief and the choices and omissions seem a bit random....He attempts too tell more obscure and untold stories and so misses out some teen sub cultures such as Punk, Mods and Teddy's and big events such as the miners strike, which seem like oversights in the story about Britain in the latter half of the 20th century. And yet, there is a whole chapter about the Beatles and then one on Posh and Becks....hardly unknown people or untold stories...

Thought-provoking no matter which side of the political spectrum you are on, this book prompts discussions on what it is to be British today and what the future of Britain might be. However, in having a broad theme it does mean the chapters are quite short and lack depth...He just seems to get started and then moves on to something else.

Overall, a good and interesting read.

[Mohammad Al-ubaydli · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely story of a lovely island

I was surprised by Andrew Marr’s scholarship. This book is full of interesting vignettes of forgotten people. Not the man who first climbed Everest but the man who reported on him (and eventually became a woman). Not the minister or the mistress in the Profumo affair but the man who was handling the seedy dealings. Not Lara Croft but the 16 year old who came up with the idea of the game and left in protest at what the character before, walking away from wealth at a young age.

All lovingly told by Marr. My criticism is that Marr is clearly innumerate and lacks business understanding. He is unduly harsh on the U.K. counting it as unimportant even as he tells the stories of Britons who made marks in the world. But what delicious stories he tells and what sympathy he has for the characters. All is forgiven.

[Nick Harriss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Andrew Marr's previous "A History of Modern Britain" and "The Making of Modern Britain", as well as their accompanying TV series, which I have both read and watched on multiple occasions. This latest book, written very much in the same style, does not disappoint. Right up to date, including elements of this year's corona virus pandemic, it is a first rate account of of the changes in Britain since Queen Elizabeth II began her reign, told through the story of around 60 people, some famous, some once famous and others long forgotten by most. A worthy addition to the library of any lover of modern British history.

[David Allwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrew Marr is a highly respected journalist, broadcaster, and author. Using his unique insights he has written a book which outlines British history from the Queen’s coronation to current day. He achieves this by highlighting interesting and significant individuals who contributed to this period of modern history. This is a big and dense book of 63 chapters and because of that, despite being very informative, the book becomes repetitive and tedious due to the richness of detail. Too much information is a positive problem but it does detract from the overall readability and intake of the exhausted reader.

[William Coulter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an American who watched the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on TV. I studied in London in the 60's and worked in London in the 70's and 80's. For the past three decades I have continued to visit England for work and for pleasure. Andrew Marr's book was a walk down memory lane having considerable first hand hand knowledge of many of the events. But I learned so much more and I recommend his book to any and all who have an interest in the UK and how it has evolved over the past 70 years.

[Chris Aylott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Survey of British history during Elizabeth II's reign, mostly using brief biographies of individuals to highlight social, economic, and military trends. It's interesting reading, though Marr assumes you know the basic framework of who was in power and what events happened when over the last seventy years. That was fine; I enjoyed looking things up every now and again. But the gap in the introductory framework is not filled by deeper connections or thoughtful exploration of ideas. This reads like what it is -- the rambling ruminations of an aging journalist.

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read many books of contemporary history and I enjoyed this assessment of how modern Britain was formed going back to the start of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. It was interesting to look at social change through various individuals some very famous like Freddie Mercury and the Beatles and some less well known. I enjoyed the parts about society and culture more than the parts about wars and industry. Marr has tried to stay impartial and mostly succeeds in some areas his own opinions which I did not always agree with are more prominent.

[Colin Winter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too opinionated to be a fair overview

Not so much about Elizabethans more about how great Maggie thatcher was, found Andrew Marr kept going how great she was in almost every chapter. Also its obvious that he wanted brexit, no problem in that but as I said he keeps bringing in his own opinions and tries to tell you he's right. Liked his previous books but this book bored me and I was skipping pages towards the end. Will not bother to read any more of his books.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book. It was so fascinating to see how we changed from the beginning of the Queen Elizabeth's reign to present day.


This was a really interesting read. I loved learning about people who helped shape Britian. I've also learnt about so many people that I had never known much if not anything about, I'm definitely going to look into a learn more about them.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great storyteller and historian, Marr’s recounting of individuals important to the transformation of Britain during Elizabeth II’s reign was enlightening. I think a little was missed from his final argument and the book was only loosely curated and appeared to be more a series of interesting examples rather than a cohesive theory.

[Laff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a serious history book, but then again he is a journalist. Fairly random and repetitive, more like a series of newspaper articles stitched together, and extremely Anglo-Scottish, reflecting the author's own upbringing.

[Vincent Coole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really insightful book that shines a light on important people and events that may not have had the coverage they deserve. The breadth of subjects means some chapters will be more interesting than others, but all are engagingly written.

[Thekirkiepirate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very interesting and accessible book from Andrew Marr. I particularly enjoyed thst he was writing about events that have still not fully worked through. Were it to be written in 10 years time, then I am sure the perspective would be altered by Brexit, covid and no dount other events that are still to unfold.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find this approach to history very entertaining and interesting. Instead of relying on a chronological narration, history is narrated by the story of some people. I've come across some interesting personalities and trivia! :)
Very nice narration on Audible too.

[Liz Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot of interesting facts but it reads like a conversation and I kept forgetting what had been said . It sort of rolled on and on chatting about this and that and I couldn't find any order and it got muddled . I'll finish it sometime but not just now .