This is a political history of the British Isles. There are plenty of facts for history buffs and quizzers. At the same time, the author sets out to discover who the British people really are, including the latest evidence from DNA studies. He delves into the murky depths of the Dark Ages and the coming of the Anglo-Saxons. Later he treats us to the stirring defeat of the Spanish Armada and the brutal realism of the Roundheads in the Civil War, when England had the finest army in Europe. Even Robin Hood and Hereward the Wake are here.
“It has flashes of insight not remembered from my schooldays! — for example: ‘For a man known to be a butcher of innocents and a rapist, Richard the Lionheart’s reputation as an international superstar has survived amazingly well, perhaps because of the comparison with his creepy brother John.’ Excellent — I read two chapters every night, and loved it.” — J Davies
This edition is illustrated with seven maps, photographs and a full set of genealogies.
