Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

I have always enjoyed reading about American history, and to fully appreciate it, I feel I need to read about British history as well; it serves as something of a prologue. I went into Rebecca Fraser's Story of Britain optimistically, and while the writing is generally good, this is like a statue that looks good at a distance but close up, all the cracks are visible. The quality of this book is diminished by these "cracks".

The book covers Britain from Roman times to 2002. The first chapter deals with the Roman occupation of Britain, the next two with the early (pre-Norman invasion) kings and the remaining chapters cover each king's or queen's reign. For much of the book, these chapters are essentially biographies of the royals, but around the time of the Hanoverian kings (Georges I, II and III), the royalty fades into the background and this becomes a tale of Parliament and Prime Ministers.

The title for the British release of this book called it a "People's History" but that is appropriately changed for the U.S. release. This is not a history of the "people"; instead, it focuses almost exclusively on the people in power. The lives of the regular people are rarely discussed in any detail. Similarly, Fraser doesn't discuss much of the culture; there are a few references to Shakespeare and Dickens, but Shaw is only mentioned once, and many others not at all (including big-name writers like Oscar Wilde and - modern times - influential British musicians such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Who) who had an effect on culture and society.

That, however is not really a flaw; it's just that Fraser's emphasis is more on the royalty and the politicians. But there are real problems. There is the occasional anachronism (such as referring to early Brits as "English" long before they really qualified as this subgroup). Fraser also avoids certain issues; for example, while she has no problem discussing various mistresses, she seems to have an aversion about discussing the possible homosexuality of certain monarchs (such as Edward II), instead just allowing vague hints.

Most grating, however, are the outright errors that pop up in this book. She incorrectly defines the Diaspora as being caused by the Romans (it was caused by the Babylonians); she misnames the American naval hero as "Paul Jones" and she says Sputnik put a man in orbit. If she gets these things wrong, it is harder to rely on the rest of her material. The lack of any footnoting (she only provides a "Further Reading" list) exacerbates the problem.

Generally, however, Fraser is a reasonably good writer and if one assumes that the errors are infrequent (even if sometimes they are glaring), then this is an informative book as well. Overall, I rate it a low three stars; I cannot really recommend it and feel that there are probably better books out there on the same subject.

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.

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!

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!

This book does an acceptable job of describing the succession of British Monarchs but the Oxford Guide to the British Monarchy does a better job. The reason is that the Oxford guide does not abandon that theme at any time. It's a bit dull and is a better reference book but it delivers as promised. It also has more and better illustrations. Too many times, I wanted to see a picture of the person being described only to find that I had to go to the Oxford book to get it. When the author arrives at the Victorian era, the monarchy is barely mentioned for the rest of the book. The theme at that point seems to be social and governmental reforms and how the House of Commons and the British people adopt them. (And wars of course. Unfortunately she only mentions in passing the War of 1812 with America.) It's as if there are two seperate books bound together. At first, I thought her politics might be driving this change. To her credit, she seems to ride the center fairly well even having some good things to say about Margaret Thatcher and some negative remarks about the liberal education reforms of the 1960's and 1970's. The last two hundred years take up about one forth of the book. If one scans the chapters, the further back in time you go the fewer pages are used for each era and therefore the more sparse the information. I wish the book had been more even. While I received considerable information I did not know about the last two hundred years, it was at the expense of other eras I wanted to know more about. There were a few glaring errors dealing mostly with other countries' history. Most have been covered by other reviews. I would only add that the Japanese planes that attacked Pearl Harbor did not fly all the way across the Pacific Ocean and back as she states. They arrived by aircraft carrier. A bit absurd as mid-air refueling had not yet been invented. Was it worth the money and time? Only just. I can't help thinking there is something better out there though. I couldn't tell you where. My apologies to the author. I actually wished I could meet her or take a class from her. She seems very knowledgable and interesting. I like to think she could have done better.

This is a very good book. Fraser has a difficult task in covering the history of Britain from the Roman invasion to 2003. She passes with flying colors. This book gives you an excellent overview of British history. You will learn who mattered, what mattered, and why. You will gain an understanding of the British, particularly English, psyche. This book does a good job explaining the evolution of Britain over the years and the various influences on this important nation. It does not cover everything in minute detail, but given the breadth and complexity of the topic, this would be an unrealistic expectation. However, at 785 pages of text it provides sufficient detail for a book of its breadth. If you are looking for a single book to learn about British history this is a very good choice.

Studying English literature (distance learning)at London School of Journalism requires at least a rudimentary knowledge of British history and I, being a foreigner, (from Slovenia) have a very modest knowledge of it so far. I admit I have ordered this book trusting on my luck- and I am sure it is a direct hit!
Although I have only been able to study first 200 pages, I am already convinced that I have got THE book I really need; because:
- it is easy readable, especially for a foreigner
- the articles are short, consise and of manageable size.
- the articles are sufficiently equipped with charts and pictures
- I would not dare to review the content- but I really enjoy this
extremely interesting and charmingly written narrative book.

I found this book very helpful in learning about British history. I am looking for the emotional and psychological quality of the times which many books don't give. This book does. It is filled with descriptions of what the people who ruled Britain were like, not just what they did and when. There are places where it skips back and forth -- in fact the place a previous commentator found confusing is where I was confused for a bit -- but that is a minor flaw as far as I am concerned.

More importantly for me, is that pages go by without even a year being mentioned. I would like more of "in November, 1702, things got worse".