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I have a feeling this may have been asked recently but I couldn't find the thread.
I've a reasonable understanding of prehistoric Britain but would like to become more familiar with the next couple of thousand years!
I'm after a book/s covering British history from Bronze Age up to around 1900. At this point I just want an overview, I'm sure I'll focus on areas of specific interest later on. I want it to be accurate but mainly I want it to be an good read rather than an overly dry slog.
So what should be on the Christmas list?
Simon Schama is quite readable.
No history book is entirely ‘accurate’
Think it might be post 1900, but Andrew Marrs book was very educational for me.
1066 and all that?
But seriously, if you are happy with a podcast format, ‘This Sceptred Isle’ made by the BBC as a radio series was very enlightening. Period covered 55bc to 1901ad
No history book is entirely ‘accurate
Agreed, I suppose I meant that I'd prefer a non-fiction style (as opposed to eg "Sarum" - while I enjoy books like this, it's not what I'm after this time).
Great Tales from English History by Robert Lacey is a great one. It is broken in to lots of short stories, so very easy to engage with and easy to just pick up, read a couple and put down if short on time. Not in depth, but gives a great snap shot from lots of different periods and key people and events.
something to think about, do you want English history or British history, there is a huge difference and far too much is the former, masquerading as the later.
Another vote for the Simon Scharma books.
something to think about, do you want English history or British history, there is a huge difference and far too much is the former, masquerading as the later
Good question. I'm interested in British history, I feel incredibly ignorant of Scottish, Welsh and Irish (n&s) history. However I am also aware that this is extending the subject so much that any book is likely to miss out a whole lot. I think if there were maybe 2 or 3 books which covered different aspects of British history, it would help steer me towards what I want to learn about next.
Thanks for all the suggestions so far, should keep me going over the holidays.
the history of england podcast, by David Crowther.
Interesting, reasonably accurate/well sourced (at least) funny/entertaining.
Schama only covers Scottish history from an English viewpoint so you'd definitely be missing something there.
Also, avoid Neil Oliver. He's not even a historian.
@scotroutes are there any good books from the Scottish perspective you would recommend?
Nigel Tranter maybe - prone to some romanticism. Magnus Magnusson possibly a better bet.
As suggested above, all historians apply some of their own ideas and prejudices when writing about history. It's often worth reading a few in order to attempt a more neutral understanding.
Edit: also Alistair Moffat. I've not read his Scotland - a history from earliest times but he covers some specific topics really well. I've just read The Faded Map again.
Great Tales from English History by Robert Lacey is a great one
I'd second that, I've all 3 volumes in the downstairs toilet.
Norman Davies "The Isles: a History". Specifically Scottish, Tom Devine.
Fab, thanks everyone. I'm sure that will keep me busy for a while.
are there any good books from the Scottish perspective you would recommend?
Books about Scottish history don't exist, as nothing has ever happened there. True Fact...
Just watch Cunk On Britain, it has everything you need.
Scottish history from an English viewpoint
That's interesting. I'm always aware that Scottish (and Irish, and Welsh) history is a bit 'tacked on' in these things, but I'd never considered the 'English viewpoint' aspect. Are there any specific examples you can give of Schama having an English viewpoint, or is it more of a 'general tone' sort of thing?
Alistair Moffatt's books on the genetic history of England and Scotland (in particular) are absolutely fascinating and very well written. He manages to pull together ace scholarship with accessibility.
And anything by Roy Porter.
I've read most 9f the Schama series. They are fascinating, but they aren't really a neutral history. They are specifically abiut the origins of modern Britain as a cultural entity. So there's hardly anything about the Wars of the Roses for example, just the context and that they happened. However there's half a book about the English civil war. And there's a huge amount about 18th century philosophising on what a nation state should be which I find very interesting.
When it covers for example Welsh history it's fair and not Anglocentric, but in reality whilst things happened in Wales they didn't contribute much to the evolution of modern Britain as you'd expect. There's obviously more in there about Scotland but it's still not a Scottish history.
avoid Neil Oliver. He’s not even a historian
No, but he is a writer, who can research. Historians often push their own academic interpretation. In Our Time podcasts are great. I'm reading The Frayed Atlantic Edge at the moment, which examines the history of the Atlantic British coasts, from the sea. Interesting altered viewpoint.
I imagine James Hawes Shortest History of England will fit your bill. I've not read it, but his Shortest History of Germany is excellent and very readable.
I know it doesn't exactly match the brief and the previous comments are noted, but I really enjoyed Neil Oliver's "History of Ancient Britain". Very readable and occasionally funny. Ends at about 500AD though. I've also been reading "The Frayed Atlantic Edge" but gave up when it morphed into a series of political rants.
Doesn't precisely hit your brief (hey, this is STW) but Oliver Rackham's Illustrated History of the Countryside is excellent if you have an interest in how human activity has created the British countryside. Not sure if it's currently in print but there are plenty of secondhand copies available.
I’d recommend The Offshore Islanders but likely too right-wing for this manor.
Thanks again for the suggestions. I've now got about five books on their way to me.
Make sure you do a lot of reading about Irish history too. It's often part of the same story for the last 400+ years
Second the Oliver Rackham book. Nick Crane is usually a safe bet too.
Also, not quite within scope but worth a read, Tales of Muffled Oars by Magnus Mills.
52 Times Britain was a Bellend by James Felton.
Amazon often have it on a good discount. Very funny, also quite sobering at times to discover that the glorious Empire history we learned in school was not that glorious after all.