British History discussion

Does anyone have a good book to suggest that covers that basic history of Britain? I want something that is kind of like British History 101. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Kevin Newman

I took a course in British history, and we read A Shortened History of England by George Macaulay Trevelyan and Anthony Gatrell. You can find it on Amazon but you have to through a dealer and it doesn't apply free shipping to buy it, but I suspect you could order it through Inter-library loan at your local library if you are in the U.S.

The book is608 pages, but I don't remember it being that long when I read it. I do remember it being interesting, and I read it in a couple of days. We didn't have to read the entire book for the class as the school that offered the course broke British history into two sections, but I ended up reading it all anyways as I love studying British history.

Hey Roberta,
Thanks for the tip about A Shortened History of England. I'm definitely going to check it out. While I was looking on Amazon for it, I found another book called The History of England by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Does anyone know anything about this one?

One more question. I guess I shouldn't have looked on Amazon because now I'm finding too many books. Does anyone know anything about Rebecca Fraser's The Story of Britain?

Thanks for your help
Kevin

McCaulay's history is a classic - but be aware that it is nineteenth-century.

I've never read Rebecca Fraser's history.

For a one-volume history I really like The Land and Literature of England - but I think it's out of print.

Simon Schama has a three book series called 'A History of Britain'. The books are good sized, but they're written for a TV audience rather than an academic audience, and are pretty entertaining. Most libraries seem to have them. I believe either the BBC or NPR made a TV series based on the books.

About the TV series - I think it was the BBC.

I really enjoyed English History Made Brief, Irreverent and Pleasurable by Lacey Baldwin Smith. The book delivered on the promise of it's title as it was indeed brief and pleasurable. Offered a good working knowledge of British History with humourous little cartoons added. It's a handy little book to have about.

I'd second the Schama route for a rollicking good look at British history through the ages. Neither dry nor wet - just a crisp and refreshing long read.