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English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable

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This gem of a book is everything its title promises: English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable. An eminent scholar of the Tudor period of English history, Professor Lacey Baldwin Smith in his newest book ranges over the entire course of English history. And like his many earlier books, it is a reminder that some historians can write insightful and compelling history in prose that is graceful, eloquent, and witty. While he describes this brief work (262 pages) as a kind of traveler's companion, the book is also a substantive summary of English history that manages consistently to reduce the complexity of that subject to "brief, irreverent, and pleasurable" analyses and descriptions. Absorbing what is here will give a reader an excellent understanding of the English experience and open the way to further explorations. The telling anecdotes and apt quotations enhance the dozens of illustrations, especially from Punch, that provide both serious and comic views of figures and elements of English history.

His comments on Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, one example of many possibilities, illustrate the point. Blenheim was the reward from Queen Anne for the Duke of Marlborough's (Winston Churchill's eminent ancestor) bringing Louis XIV to his knees. He combines a tone appropriate to the book's title while conveying a clear idea of the significance of the place in the larger picture. Blenheim Palace "may be the largest and most spectacular private pile on earth....that every tourist must see in order to believe; it is also a celebration of the robust egotism and extravagance of Britain's Augustan Age driven by the wealth of commerce and Empire."

He reminds us that written history in general "is not what happened in the past, but what today is worth remembering about the past." Chapter titles reflect this point and indicate the book's tone as well as realistically recognizing the changing position of England in recent decades: "History Worth Remembering (to 1485)," " More Memorable History (1485-1964)," and "Less and Less Memorable History (1964 to the Present)."

In the final chapter, "The Royal Soap Opera," Professor Smith provides wonderfully condensed portraits of the kings and queens of England, starting with William the Conqueror and concluding with Elizabeth II. We are in the author's debt not only for bringing order out of the considerable chaos of the centuries-long royal tale, but for doing it in such a delightful way. One may wonder anew, perhaps, whether the English will eventually adopt a republican form of government since so much of the royal history, especially in recent times, is less than inspiring. Professor Smith's remarks here are, as usual, insightful and nicely put: "British Royalty will probably survive scandal, paparazzi, and investigatory journalism so long as its scandals remain glamorous in the Hollywood sense. But what is eating at the soul of Kingship is not moral outrage but boredom....Once the soap is taken out of the Royal Soap Opera, the audience...may simply get up and leave."

Anyone planning to travel to England in body and/or mind will find this a delightful read.

Obviously, to cover a thousand years of history in a readable and interesting manor requires one to "hit the high points." The author shows a real knack for covering the events in English history which made the most impact on modern Great Brittain and the world. Still, the reasons behind social and economic change are covered with some detail. This book is a good read for a broad but superficial understanding of English history.

This is less comedic than '1066 and All That' but is delightful reading. I wonder if someone who does not have at least a smattering of historical knowledge might be bemused at some of the allusions. I enjoyed it and sent it on to a grand-child who on a visit to London asked me what was there interesting in Westminster Abbey. I hope it might inspire her to read more history and enjoy it more.

The title of Professor Lacey Baldwin Smith's latest book, English History Made Brief, Irreverent and Pleasurable does say it all. It tears through over two millennia of history in 250 pages or so with an American audience in mind, making it a good refresher course or prep for travel to a land where any given spot offers up layers of historical connection. What Smith means by "irreverent" is his refusal to love the place uncritically; he is respectful but calls out buffoonish mistakes and downright atrocities committed by its leaders right up through Tony Blair. His book may not be as satirical or comical as 1066 And All That, but the facts alone are often entertaining without embellishment. That's where "Pleasurable" comes in, especially given Smith's lucid writing style.

The earlier sections of the book leap centuries at a gulp, tracing the rise from a land of many kingdoms to nationhood and the evolution of its laws and culture. The bloody excesses of the Dark and Medieval Ages are referenced but not dwelled upon in as huge detail as they are in weightier tomes (or the last fifteen minutes of the film "Braveheart"), which makes this much easier to take. The 19th and 20th centuries take up most of the pages before Smith returns to individual monarchs, beginning with William The Conqueror, in the "Royal Soap Opera" section. The House of Windsor has nothing on its forebears when it comes to intrigues, blunders and eccentricities.

Professional scholars may grouse at the lack of footnotes and theoretical language, but for the rest of us, that's okay. Smith's obvious delight in his subject prevents the brevity of the treatment from turning into a dry historical outline.

This book in unorthodox way shows the history of England. Even though it is humoristic way, you can find several new and interesting informations. Really worth to buy.

The book is delightful and informative, but a Scottish-born (and educated) neighbor caught some errors. P. 87: "Colloden" should be "Culloden." P. 154: George V changed the name of the royal family from Hanover to Windsor, but from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. P. 185: Robert Burns did not write "Gaelic verses." He wrote in the Scots language, a Germanic language not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language

I love historical anecdotes, and this book is full of them, along with a funny 'cliffs-notes' version of major historical events. Wish it had been a text book in grade school--would have been so much more fun to read!

It is hard to grasp English history when you haven't grown up with it but this book is a great help.