The Story of Britain: From the Romans to the Present: A Narrative History

by Rebecca Fraser

Book Overview

A sparkling anecdotal account with the pace of an epic, about the men and women who created turning points in history. Rebecca Fraser's dramatic portrayal of the scientists, statesmen, explorers, soldiers, traders, and artists who forged Britain's national institutions is the perfect introduction to British history.

Just as much as kings and queens, battles and empire, Britain's great themes have been the liberty of the individual, the rule...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393060101
• ISBN13: 9780393060102
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 848 Pages
• Weight: 2.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.6" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

The Story of Britain is an excellent popular history of Great Britain

Rebecca Fraser the author of "The Story of Britain" is the daughter of famed historian Lady Antonia Fraser. Rebecca continues the excellent tradition of her mother by this 785 page behemoth of a book. In these closely printed pages Fraser unfolds the pageantry, poetry, politics and personalities that have made GB the oldest democracy in the world. Fraser has divided her book up by reporting in concise prose the history of each monarch's reign. She covers all the kings and queens from Roman times to the long reign of the present Queen Elizabeth II. The sections are: 1. Norman and Angevin: 1066-1216 2. Plantagenet: 1216-1399. 3. Lancastrian and Yorkist-1399-1485 4. Tudor-1485-1603 5. Stuart-1603-1714 6. Hanoverian-1717-1901 7. Saxe-Coburg: The reign of Edward VII-1901-1910 8. Windsor-1910-the present. This book was originally published for the general audience in England. An American, however, with a scant knowledge of British history could follow the fascinating story with ease. Fraser's style is elegantly easy to comprehend even when explaining complex economic, relgious and political controversies. I assert that this fine book would be a good textbook for an introductory course on British history or it could serve as a valuable resource in a course on Enlish Literature. Fraser's book focuses on politics, & royalty and gives little space to the lives of everyday people. In that sense it is an old fashioned type histiography. The book is well illustrated with period etchings and photos. Her work on post-1900 was especially well done as she describes World War I and World War's II's devastation of the British Empire. Her words on Prime Minister Magaret Thatcher were also valuable. The book has a handy bibliography of works which will lead the interested reader to exploring personalities, reigns and times which are covered in the Fraser text. Unlike many books in my library I know I will be referring to this one for years to come. Worth it's price!

Fun to read

This is a non-pretentious history of England, mostly. There are no foootnotes and the three-page bibliography shows there is no original research. But for all that it is a good work, telling the story reign-by-reign from the time of the Romans till about 2002. After you read it you should read 1066 and All That, since you will be prepared to appreciate even more the humor of that great volume. I also found the account of Britain since the Second World War of great interest--maybe because it was turning into history what one has pcked up day by day during the period involved. The whole volume is easy to read and tells a great story.

A completely readable history book

I truly enjoyed Rebecca Fraser's history of Britain and give it my highest recommendation. She covers 2000 years of history in 750 pages, discussing all the kings, prime ministers, parliamentary issues, and civil wars in a thoroughly readable fashion. Time and again, Fraser informed me about a subject, then sensibly and effortlessly segued to the next event. She presents the facts, the famous stories, and the fun anecdotes without a great deal of editorial analysis and - to my way of thinking - without a great deal of bias. As with any survey of this amount of time, her coverage of most events is brief - never more than ten pages to a topic - but she engages the reader, and absolutely prepared me to read more detailed histories of the most compelling figures and times. Included are an excellent list of recommended books, quite a few clear maps, and adequate illustrations. My biggest quibble with the book is the lack of detail about everyday lives as she discusses the first 1,400 years or so of history. As time marches on, the reader gets a much better sense of everyday life as Fraser talks about child labor, land ownership, health care, etc. but little information about changes in social organization is included in the first 300 pages of her work. I would have benefited from either a few more pages of this early history of a few less details about kings, civil wars, and religious disputes. Still, this is a book I will keep for years to come, and I am sure I will refer to it again and again. Combining its low price, the extremely engaging writing style, and the fact that the book works as a reference book, you can't go wrong.

Pleasurable Reading

This is an enjoyable read, but that is not to say it is 'lite'. It is a thorough history without being tedious. It doesn't just focus on major events, there are many other things of interest besides who was king and who came next. For example, the explanation of why the Treasury of England was/is called The Exchequer, why counties are called counties, where the word sheriff comes from. Fun stuff like that. With the major facts and many interesting things, it is a good overview of the history of Britain. The rulers and other players are presented as real people, I get a feel for their personalities. The charts of the kings, in the back before the index, are helpful. The book itself is lovely, with cream colored pages and clear type. I have not finished reading the book yet, but I find time to read some every day. It is a real pleasure. I paid full price for this book and it is definitely worth it. I look forward to Rebecca Fraser's next book. She does her mom proud!

Excellent Narrative

This book tells the fascinating history of Britain from Roman times to the present day. It is written as a chronological narrative, and is a good general history of Britain. It explores not only the personalities that lived the history, but tells about how English culture was brought about. Through the ancient Celts, the invasions of the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Danes and the Normans, Britain was influenced by different cultures and traditions. These influences, along with the influence of Christianity, was molded into a country as diverse as those influences. Most important events and personages are mentioned, some in passing and some at more length. In any case, a book like this won't be filled with minute details, but instead gives a broad view of the history of this great country. So if there's a specific time or event that you want to know more about, you'll find but small reference to it here. At 700+ pages, this is not a short narrative. But the fact that it took so many pages to paint but a broad picture of the history of Britain says volumes about how rich the history of this nation is. Written in a very readable style, and considering the type of history it is, I can't think of a better book for an overview of the history of Britain. Highly recommended!