Brilliant Isles

by James Hawes

Explore the history of the British isles through 80 extraordinary creations -- from Beowulf and the Bayeux Tapestry to Banksy, Stormzy, and beyond...
A companion book to the landmark BBC series,
BRILLIANT ISLES tells the story of these islands through art, music, buildings and literature -- the creations of visionaries, mavericks and rule-breakers who responded to their times and shaped the future. Whether read cover-to-cover or dipped into, this is a vibrant, surprising and witty guide to a unique culture, by one of our sharpest writers.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2022

About the author

James Hawes grew up in Gloucestershire, Edinburgh and Shropshire. He took a First in German at Hertford College, Oxford, then did a postgrad theatre studies in Cardiff, Wales. Having failed as an actor, he worked as an English teacher in Spain. In 1985-6 he was in charge of CADW excavations at the now-UNESCO World Heritage site of Blaenavon Ironworks. He took a PhD on Nietzsche and German literature 1900-1914 at University College, London 1987-90, then lectured in German at Maynooth University (Ollscoil Mhá Nuad) in Ireland between 1989 and 1991 before doing so at Sheffield University and Swansea University.

James has published six novels, all with Jonathan Cape. He turned to creative non-fiction with a Kafka anti-biography, Excavating Kafka (2008) which became the subject of a BBC documentary. In 2015, Englanders and Huns was shortlisted for the Paddy Power Political Books of the Year 2015. The Shortest History of Germany, published in May 2017, reached #2 in the Sunday Times bestseller charts in April 2018, being pipped for #1 only by Noah Yuval Harari. The Shortest History of England appeared in October 2020 and reached #4 in the Times bestseller charts in July 2021.

James has reviewed and/or written for every UK broadsheet, on topics from DIY to Prince Philip. His journalistic high-points to date were the cover-story for The New Statesman in September 2017 and the long read The England Delusion in Prospect in August 2021; this was publicly described by Prof Ciaran Martin, CB, founding Chief Executive of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, as “a really brilliant essay on the historical origins of UK constitutional tensions”. He has appeared on Radio 4 Today, Channel 4 News, Sky News and GB News.

In 2022, he was “series story consultant” and key on-screen commentator in the eight-part BBC TV series “Art that Made Us”. He also wrote the accompanying book.

His next book will be The Shortest History of Ireland.

Reviews

[Emma Dargue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good. Short and snappy chapters about various aspects of art that have shaped britain. These include maps,sculpture,paintings/portraits as well as examples of film and literature in the form of books and plays. The only reason I have marked it 4 stars is because I would have liked longer chapters on some of the less well known objects.

[JJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A multidemensional journey through British culture. One immediately wants to travel follow the hints given at the bottom of each double page.

[Steve Toms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended. As an enthusiastic reader of British history this book offers a different perspective offering new insights on almost every page. Its use of art to interpret history over a period of 2000 years creates unique insights. On the other hand discussion of artefacts defers somewhat to the context of their creation - an imbalance that could have been rectified by providing references to support further understanding. Instead references are provided to other works but without spelling out the relationship to the particular topic.

[Ian Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accompanies the excellent BBC series, presents some very intuitive insights into British history through art contemporary to the period being discussed. The book consists of 2 page articles, including a black & white illustration. The televised version takes more time on each story and is better for it. The book is a handy summary.

[Chris Bookley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Potted.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting selection of artistic pieces to illustrate the history of the British Isles with incitful commentary.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delicious history of the arts and language that grew into English/British.

[Riley C · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book. The start was especially engaging. Not something I’d recommend buying but interesting as a gift or a library lend.

[Sarah Taverner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book off the back of the BBC production which was a masterpiece . The text is concise, accessible and engaging but the actual manufacture of the book is no frills (in my paperback edition). It seems incongruous to me to create a book dedicated to significant visual culture and have all the images (many complex) in low resolution black and white, on what looks like recycled paper

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating account of the history of Britian through the artistic, literary and cultural events and objects. I learnt a lot that I hadn't known before.

Hawes writes in a very engaging style and this kept me interested throughout the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in British history, literature and art.