Anatomy of a Nation: A History of British Identity in 50 Documents

by Dominic Selwood

From an obscure, misty archipelago on the fringes of the Roman world to history's largest empire and originator of the world's mongrel, magpie language - this is Britain's past. But, today, Britain is experiencing an acute trauma of identity, pulled simultaneously towards its European, Atlantic and wider heritages. To understand the dislocation and collapse, we must look to Britain's evolution, achievements, complexities and tensions. In a ground-breaking new take on British identity, historian and barrister Dominic Selwood explores over 950,000 years of British history by examining 50 documents that tell the story of what makes Britain unique.Some of these documents are well-known. Most are not. Each reveal something important about Britain and its people. From Anglo-Saxon poetry, medieval folk music and the first Valentine's Day letter to the origin of computer code, Hitler's kill list of prominent Britons, the Sex Pistols' graphic art and the Brexit referendum ballot paper, Anatomy of a Nation reveals a Britain we have never seen before. People are at the heart of the a female charioteer queen from Wetwang, a plague surviving graffiti artist, a drunken Bible translator, outlandish Restoration rakehells, canting criminals, the eccentric fathers of modern typography and the bankers who caused the finance crisis.Selwood vividly blends human stories with the selected 50 documents to bring out the startling variety and complexity of Britain's achievements and failures in a fresh and incisive insight into the British psyche. This is history the way it is supposed to be a captivating and entertaining account of the people that built Britain.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, British Literature

672 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2021

About the author

Dominic Selwood is a bestselling author, journalist and historian.

His latest bestselling book, Punctuation Without Tears, is out now. 'A powerful little book: sure-footed, simple, feisty, funny, and profoundly helpful' ***** (The Independent)

Dominic is the author of the international #1 bestseller The Sword of Moses, 'a rollercoaster crypto-thriller, a ride that thrills and educates’ (Daily Express), voted one of the top five religious thrillers of all time (BestThrillers.com). The sequel The Apocalypse Fire was described as ‘the best of James Bond and the Da Vinci Code rolled into one’ (Soldier Magazine).

He is also the author of two history books: the international #1 bestselling Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers: The History You Weren’t Taught at School and Knights Of The Cloister.

His writing guide Punctuation Without Tears: Punctuate Confidently – In Minutes! has been described as ‘simple, feisty, funny and profoundly helpful’ (The Independent) and is being used widely in schools in the UK and USA. He has also written two short ghost stories The Voivod and Suffer The Children.

He writes on history for the Daily Telegraph and other newspapers and magazines, and regularly appears on TV and radio discussing history. He lives in London.

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

History is often projected as being linear with characters, facts, figures, and dates being the cornerstone in an attempt to educate the masses. Dr. Selwood ignores this premise and charts his own course by focusing on documents in an effort to answer the question ‘what is the British identity?’ Using the definition from the Oxford English Dictionary of what constitutes as a document, Selwood presents to readers 50 documents then delves into the story surrounding its creation then includes evidence as to how it shaped, not only the Britain we know today, but, in some cases, the world as well. 


One refreshing feature of this book is that it does not hide or ignore any negative aspects by selecting only documents which can tell the history in a positive light, quite the opposite! Each document chosen allows the reader to delve into the past without being given the opportunity to ignore any atrocious acts or leaving out the negative conduct of the characters involved, instead Selwood focuses on bringing them to the forefront of the conversation. 


From the dichotomy of axe heads and dagger carvings at Stonehenge, to the oldest-known Valentine’s letter. From the creativity of The Seafarer, to the cover art for Sex Pistols’ ‘God Save the Queen’, to the tasting menu from The Fat Duck. From kings, queens and regicide, to prime ministers and spies, then lies, ‘Anatomy of a Nation’ introduces the complex history of Britain while leaving the reader to continually repeat “one more chapter.”

[Dominic Selwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth a read! :-)

[Gill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing. A rambling history of England with strange digressions - the history of typefaces, for example - and not much rhyme or reason in what was selected and what omitted. In periods of history which I know quite well I noticed inaccuracies or implications of cause and effect or chronology which just didn't stand up, like his implication that the theatres were closed after Charles I's execution when in fact it was seven years earlier.

If you want an England-centred potted history I can think of shorter, sharper options, while the device of using "texts" to structure the story just didn't work for me. I plodded through to the end, but that's time I won't get back.

[John Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really a series of essay. Some were excellent, some stretched the connection to a document and felt rushed. Worth re-reading some.

[J S · Rating 5 out of 5]

BRILLIANT A MUST READ
A thoughtful, informative and affectionate look at what it means to be British. Very timely post BREXIT and with the Culture Wars still ongoing. The digressions into the evolution of typography may not be to everyone's taste (but just skip those). The Afterword "Voices from the Future" says it all.

[Dеnnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A benchmark for all other books of a similar type. Depth, readability and a very creative narrative. This book really stands out in its perfection. I've read a number of such titles, but Selwood literally reinvented the wheel.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an American, this book provided me with a concise high-level history of the UK, delivered in a different way.

[Angel Smith-Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing research and presentation. 677 pages of enjoyable brilliance about what it is to be British.

[Mike Dougherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant and fun.