Our Island Story (Phoenix Press) [Paperback]

H.E. Marshall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2007 | Series: Phoenix Press

Some of today’s greatest historians, including Antonia Fraser, found lifelong inspiration in H. E. Marshall’s classic. First published in 1905, it combines truth and legend to create a lively narrative history of England from the Roman era until Queen Victoria’s death. And this new illustrated edition, featuring vivid color art, is attractive and appealing. Every tale will capture the imagination of children and adults alike, including the myth of Albion and Brutus, in which the Roman gods first see the scept’rd isle; the founding of King Arthur’s Round Table; the Battle of Hastings, and the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“I was given H.E. Marshall’s Our Island Story at Christmas 1936 and I’ve still got that copy. It was a direct inspiration for me in my career as a historian.”   —Antonia Fraser

About the Author

Surprisingly little is known about the life of Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall. She is thought to have been born in 1867, but the date of her death is unknown. She concealed her gender using the initials H.E. in her writing.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Phoenix (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753823004
• ISBN-13: 978-0753823002
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 5 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #583,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars British History that is fun, April 14, 2006

By 

living book lover (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Island Story: A History of Britain for Boys and Girls (Paperback)

This is a such a fun history of England. My children love reading this book. We read a couple of chapters aloud each week. We have just started our second time through.

The chapters are relatively short. For the most part, the book is organized chronologically by King (or Queen). Each chapter (or sometimes several chapters) hits the high points of each King or Queen's reign.

Make history come alive for your children by reading this book to them.

This is a nice softcover edition. Check out the publishers other books. You can pretty much assume it is going to be interesting to your children if they have published it. I have several of their books and every one has been a hit with our family.

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Publishing Not Up To Par For Wilder Publications Version, August 19, 2009

By 

Rose Bloom "hsmom" (Lancaster, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Island Story (Paperback)

I purchased this version for a history living book as part of the Ambleside Online curriculum. This book spans several years and I plan to read it with three children so, all things being equal, I decided to buy the least expensive, unabridged version, figuring that bare bones would be fine as long as the content was there.
Sadly, I have not been impressed with this Wilder Publications version. It does appear to be unabridged, but the font is small, the lines are close together (explains the difference in number of pages between this and other versions), and the type is faint and thus hard to read. There is no table of contents, the chapters are not numbered, and each chapter begins a few scant lines after the end of the preceding one. This may reduce the page count, but it is definitely not reader-friendly if you are trying to find a specific chapter or lost your place in reading. In addition, the proofing was poor, as I have found several typos in the few chapters we've read so far. I expected to hand this book over to my 8-year-old to read on his own, but the mistakes could influence his understanding of the material, which, by the way, is outstanding.
All in all, I'd recommend spending a few extra bucks to buy an edition that was published with higher standards. [...]

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars loved this book...., September 7, 2006

By 

Jo (Ca.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Island Story: A History of Britain for Boys and Girls (Paperback)

I read this aloud last spring to my 3 boys, ages 10, 12, and 13. They all really enjoyed it and I enjoyed reading it.
The only (small) negative I could give it is that there are several spelling mistakes-mostly a missing letter in a word. I corrected that as we went along for the next time I read it aloud. It really wasn't a problem but I just thought I should point that out.
We are now reading the sequel about our own country (America) called "This Country of Ours" and enjoying that one as well. I can highly recommend both books, as well as "Fifty Famous Stories Retold" which is usually bought along with these two. That one is especially easy to narrate from as the stories are very short-often just 2 pages.