Britannia: A History of Roman Britain

Folio Society History of England #1

by Sheppard Sunderland Frere

Hardcover. Very good condition in like dust jacket and custom protective plastic cover. RB

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Roman Britain, British Literature, Archaeology

487 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1967

Reviews

[James Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came to this as part of the Folio Society's History of England the selections of which were chosen for their value as literature. As such I was disappointed. The author assumes a substantial knowledge of Roman history generally and rarely explains terms and names.

This problem is exacerbated by the book's organization the first half is more or less the "political history" of England in the first three centuries CE. It is a parade of governor's and emperor's names and locations of forts and fortlets. Of course, there is little else that we know, there being little except archeological evidence. Still, the book would massively improved for the general reader if it contained some general time lines and a good glossary.

It would also be massively improved if the second half of the book came first. I got truly interested when Frere starts his discussion of what we know about life in Roman Britain, almost exactly half way through. His discussion of what we know and how we know it of the Roman army, towns life, the countryside, and commercial life was fascinating and the second half the book would have gotten four stars from me. But it can't make up for the first half which at least as literature was poor.

[Terry Hinkley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I was unable to get through this book. Too much emphasis on statistics such as how many troops, how many forts, how large or small these forts were, how long was this wall (Hadrian and Antonine), how wide, what kind of defences for each fort or wall and on and on. Not much information in regards to happenings or aftermaths of incidents during Roman occupation of Britain which I was hoping for when I got this book. I liked the information on what the troops movements were but nothing on encounters during those movements from either Europe or inside Britain. Unless of course that would be later on in the book but it was too much of a slog to get to. I could only read a few pages at a time. A better book in this genre is In Search of the Dark Ages by Michael Wood but this deals in the events after the Romans abandoned the British Isles. Great for reference and Archaeology but not for a good read.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent history written by an archeologist and a historian. A perfect starting place for a study on Roman Britain.

[Christopher Gilmour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative

[Erik Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've studied Britannia more than any other Roman province, probably because books about it in English are so commonly available. This has been the best book on the subject I've come upon thus far.
I read this text while Catherine, an old friend from Loyola University, was staying with me after coming from her home in St. Paul, Minnesota to visit myself and other friends of hers in the Chicago area.

[Daniel Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sets the standard for history books. Frere is original in his approach to the evidence, and quite clever about the way he presents the story. It's a landmark for the history of Roman Britain, and every classicist ought to read at least some part of it. The common reader may find it a bit dull, but it's very useful for research.

[Tom Ward · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book presupposes a fairly intimate knowledge of Roman Britain, despite that being its teaching goal. Frere has no shortage of knowledge, and is well versed in sources, but his organization is poor and his writing convoluted.