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A History of Treason: The bloody history of Britain through the stories of its most notorious traitors
The bloody history of Britain through the stories of its most notorious traitors
A History of Treason details British history from 1352 to 1946, covering major historical moments in a fascinating and innovative way, using the history of high treason and deception as its theme.
Appealing to a range of audiences, it covers more than 650 years of momentous history through the use of both famous and lesser known events which shaped Britain. Using original documents and detailed research undertaken by The National Archives' record specialists, it will cover moments in history which led to fundamental changes in eras. It will also include unique discoveries from these archives, uncovering mysteries and stories of how dealing with treason have brought about the changes which have influenced and shaped Britain throughout the centuries. Among these
the trial and execution of Anne Boleyn on the orders of her husband, Henry VIII
several major acts of sedition, including the Gunpowder Plot and the revolution plotted in the Cato Street conspiracy
the evidence brought against Sir Roger Casement, executed at Pentonville and his remains later exhumed and given a state funeral in Ireland
the trial and execution of the William Joyce who, as 'Lord Haw-Haw', broadcast Nazi propaganda from Berlin during the Second World War
The book covers many stories that explore the nature of treason and how the crown and state reacted to it - from the introduction of the Treason Act in 1352 right through to the twentieth century.
Written by experts from among the historians at the National Archives, the book is copiously illustrated with images from the unrivalled collections of The National Archives.
A History of Treason details British history from 1352 to 1946, covering major historical moments in a fascinating and innovative way, using the history of high treason and deception as its theme.
Appealing to a range of audiences, it covers more than 650 years of momentous history through the use of both famous and lesser known events which shaped Britain. Using original documents and detailed research undertaken by The National Archives' record specialists, it will cover moments in history which led to fundamental changes in eras. It will also include unique discoveries from these archives, uncovering mysteries and stories of how dealing with treason have brought about the changes which have influenced and shaped Britain throughout the centuries. Among these
the trial and execution of Anne Boleyn on the orders of her husband, Henry VIII
several major acts of sedition, including the Gunpowder Plot and the revolution plotted in the Cato Street conspiracy
the evidence brought against Sir Roger Casement, executed at Pentonville and his remains later exhumed and given a state funeral in Ireland
the trial and execution of the William Joyce who, as 'Lord Haw-Haw', broadcast Nazi propaganda from Berlin during the Second World War
The book covers many stories that explore the nature of treason and how the crown and state reacted to it - from the introduction of the Treason Act in 1352 right through to the twentieth century.
Written by experts from among the historians at the National Archives, the book is copiously illustrated with images from the unrivalled collections of The National Archives.
540 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 10, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 29, 2024
This has been on my reading list since I listened to several podcasts from different providers who all visited the National Archives' exhibition on treason and completely sold it to me. I never had the opportunity to visit, but I hoped that the accompanying book might give me a glimpse into their work. Especially since I can read about gruesome executions and torture until the cows come home, but show me pictures, or even worse dramatised versions from TV and film, and I'll have nightmares for weeks!
I'm not going to say this book was without merit or interest, but it wasn't really what I was expecting. I had imagined it to be almost a written walk through of the exhibition, with the curators explaining why they had chosen particular artifacts or stories to report, before going into detail about those stories, how they shaped the overall development of treason laws and their impact. On some level, I assume this is exactly what the book does do, but it comes through as a straight recounting of facts, names and dates, rather than a labour of love by those involved. It does chart the development of the law, but in quite an uneven way; while there is a chronological order to it, there are some periods which feel like they've been sacrificed unnecessarily, and others where there is almost too-much-but-not-enough detail. For example, after the punishment for treason has been explained initially (hung drawn and quartered), the description very quickly just tapers off into 'and he was hanged'. As stated above, I'm not a huge fan of the bloody endings, but it's clear that things change through time and the drawing and quartering part (if not the beheading part) falls by the wayside at some point. Here is a clear case of where a bit of social commentary and wider context would come in handy, to educate the reader on the changing attitudes of society and lawmakers which led to the punishment being changed.
I suspect some of the lack of feeling is due to the narrator. Right from the off, his voice reminded me alternately of a) a 1990's newsreader and b) someone who reads the football results. Basically, good intonation and someone you can listen to for a short period, but who is determinedly divorced from emotional involvement in the story he's telling. This made the whole thing come across a very dry and clinical, when at the heart of it are human beings who, whether legitimately or not, are deemed traitors to the state. As a result, it became too easy to zone out of listening, especially when the subject being covered wasn't a time period or case that particularly drew my focus. There are also moments where you can clearly hear in his pauses his panic of 'OK, there's a name I haven't come across before and have no idea how to say it, so here goes nothing...', followed by an inevitability odd pronunciation. I appreciate that it's not a novel and so does require a different sort of narration, but I thought we had moved on a bit from the stuffy professor style...
There is also a lot of repetitive energy going on in here. I'm unclear if this is down to their being multiple authors covering overlapping periods or some other reason, but I found it a bit frustrating. However, it did help a little in the moment given the ease with which my mind wandered. But unfortunately it didn't help me retain the information any better. All this is not to say it isn't a fascinating insight into the law and the cases that resulted; some of the episodes that are covered are foundational moments of British history (the Gunpowder plot, the American Revolution, the Easter Rising etc), and other are more personal or obscure (at least to me!).
Overall, I suspect I would have gotten more from a physical read of this book. A passing knowledge and enjoyment of history isn't quite enough to get you solidly through the audio version. However, it wouldn't put me off going to see the exhibition!
I'm not going to say this book was without merit or interest, but it wasn't really what I was expecting. I had imagined it to be almost a written walk through of the exhibition, with the curators explaining why they had chosen particular artifacts or stories to report, before going into detail about those stories, how they shaped the overall development of treason laws and their impact. On some level, I assume this is exactly what the book does do, but it comes through as a straight recounting of facts, names and dates, rather than a labour of love by those involved. It does chart the development of the law, but in quite an uneven way; while there is a chronological order to it, there are some periods which feel like they've been sacrificed unnecessarily, and others where there is almost too-much-but-not-enough detail. For example, after the punishment for treason has been explained initially (hung drawn and quartered), the description very quickly just tapers off into 'and he was hanged'. As stated above, I'm not a huge fan of the bloody endings, but it's clear that things change through time and the drawing and quartering part (if not the beheading part) falls by the wayside at some point. Here is a clear case of where a bit of social commentary and wider context would come in handy, to educate the reader on the changing attitudes of society and lawmakers which led to the punishment being changed.
I suspect some of the lack of feeling is due to the narrator. Right from the off, his voice reminded me alternately of a) a 1990's newsreader and b) someone who reads the football results. Basically, good intonation and someone you can listen to for a short period, but who is determinedly divorced from emotional involvement in the story he's telling. This made the whole thing come across a very dry and clinical, when at the heart of it are human beings who, whether legitimately or not, are deemed traitors to the state. As a result, it became too easy to zone out of listening, especially when the subject being covered wasn't a time period or case that particularly drew my focus. There are also moments where you can clearly hear in his pauses his panic of 'OK, there's a name I haven't come across before and have no idea how to say it, so here goes nothing...', followed by an inevitability odd pronunciation. I appreciate that it's not a novel and so does require a different sort of narration, but I thought we had moved on a bit from the stuffy professor style...
There is also a lot of repetitive energy going on in here. I'm unclear if this is down to their being multiple authors covering overlapping periods or some other reason, but I found it a bit frustrating. However, it did help a little in the moment given the ease with which my mind wandered. But unfortunately it didn't help me retain the information any better. All this is not to say it isn't a fascinating insight into the law and the cases that resulted; some of the episodes that are covered are foundational moments of British history (the Gunpowder plot, the American Revolution, the Easter Rising etc), and other are more personal or obscure (at least to me!).
Overall, I suspect I would have gotten more from a physical read of this book. A passing knowledge and enjoyment of history isn't quite enough to get you solidly through the audio version. However, it wouldn't put me off going to see the exhibition!
June 21, 2023
This is a fascinating chronological account of the history of treason as it has been imagined in Britain through its history. The authors make astute and precise observations, leading the reader down a well-defined path through the messy stories of the crime's interpretation, but do not attempt to simplify or smooth over the chaos.
Enough context is given for each of the cases examined to introduce the reader to the era, although less background is given regarding the more recent cases, especially those concerning Ireland in the 19th and 20th centuries. I would have appreciated this as modern history is not my forte.
Enough context is given for each of the cases examined to introduce the reader to the era, although less background is given regarding the more recent cases, especially those concerning Ireland in the 19th and 20th centuries. I would have appreciated this as modern history is not my forte.
December 20, 2023
A really fascinating exploration of treason and how it’s definition and application has been ever-changing since the Treason Act of 1352, from defence of the Crown to the government, through religious conflict, social uprisings, empire and rebellion. This was exceedingly well researched and very compelling to read across such a broad canvas of history - the additional documents from the archives were amazing to see too!
As stated at the end, Britain is the “mother of parliaments” and also, the mother of treasons.
As stated at the end, Britain is the “mother of parliaments” and also, the mother of treasons.
May 4, 2023
4.5 stars
As you'd expect, totally fascinating and obviously insanely well researched and written. I struggled through the 19th century stuff but that's on me not them, I just find that period less fascinating for this kind of stuff. But the whole book is great, accessible and readable but in depth enough to give more than a glancing nod to stuff, as most popular history books do.
As you'd expect, totally fascinating and obviously insanely well researched and written. I struggled through the 19th century stuff but that's on me not them, I just find that period less fascinating for this kind of stuff. But the whole book is great, accessible and readable but in depth enough to give more than a glancing nod to stuff, as most popular history books do.
March 16, 2024
Really well researched and I found it very interesting. It quite through. I reccomend it if the subject interests you.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews