Very Entertaining History of Britain

I thought this was a very interesting and entertaining history. It was rarely dull. I enjoyed learning about the different roots and layers of Britain. Stephen Thorne's voice is well suited for this book. The retelling of the different revolts and the stories of the royals were great. I have only a few complaints. It's rather a lengthy time period to squeeze into 1 volume. I realize that we simply know more about modern history than we do about the middle ages and before that, but it still seems like this could have been a 4-volume series rather than 3. The final 2 volumes of the series cover only 4 centuries (and really only 3.5 since post-WWII is essentially skimmed over briefly); the first volume covers 47 centuries. Anyway, there were times when I felt like Schama glossed over periods which I would have liked to learn more about. At times events would be mentioned and then not expounded upon and this was frustrating. Also, if you went into this book hoping to learn about the structure of British nobility and government you are only going to be partly satisfied. You will learn plenty about nobles, royals, and non-royals. You'll also hear about the different ways that someone of non-noble blood could become noble. However, if you want to know the difference between, say, an Earl and a Duke, you won't find it here. Similarly, you'll learn a great deal about the different arguments and power struggles between Parliament and the royals, but you won't learn about the different houses or even how the Parliament works as far as voting and things like that. I definitely think it would be beneficial to read a book with a sort of "British society and government for dummies" feel before reading this book.

8 people found this helpful

History is fun and he makes it so

Before this book I didn't know a Stuart from a Tudor, now I do. The author's philosophy is that history should be as fun to listen to as possible. He does that with ease with this volume. He really gets most interesting when he is delving completely into some event or person such as the Battle of Hastings and William the Conqueror or the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

The book ends abruptly leaving me wanting for more. I'll probably use one more credit and get Volume II.

12 people found this helpful

Some History. Mostly a Monarchy Tabloid Rag

I became very frustrated and cheated with this book because I thought is was a book about British History. Here is a list of pre-1603 events completely left out of this book. Anything between the building of Hadrians wall and William the Conquer. The 100 years war. The Spanish Armada. The War of the Roses. Again. THE WAR OF THE ROSES. Some how this book on the history of Britain left out some of the most formative events of the period. Not a single paragraph. Maybe a sentence.
In contract, half of this book is devoted to any juicy bit of Tudor gossip he could dig up. detail after detail about every little detail you could ever want to know about Henry VIII, Ann Bolyn, Blood Mary and Elizabeth.in this book about the history of Britain, there is more written in this book about Elizabeth's dog than there is the War of the Roses.
If you would like a Tudor tabloid, this is the book for you. If you want a History of Britain, look somewhere else.

5 people found this helpful

Great story-telling, lovely voice

Good sense of character and plot. Sensitive to the significant detail. Informative without being dry or pedantic. Very enjoyable history! And the reader has a pleasant, resonant voice.

4 people found this helpful

A History of the English Monarchy from 1066-1603

Schama is a talented writer, and his narrative flows easily, but it is really just a popular history of the English Monarchy from William the Conqueror through Elizabeth 1. Even then, while he hits on all of the major points of that time frame, he obviously felt that there were really only a few Monarchs who deserved more than a cursory mention, leaving this very much a book in the Great Man of History tradition.

William I, Edward I, Henry II and Beckett, Henry III and Eleanor and the Tudors all get lots of press. Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Chaucer, Shakespeare, the War of the Roses, Richard III, the Crusades and many other aspects of British history are given scant mention.

Thorne does a fine job as narrator, and it is a well written book, with a sly wit, but the subtitle is a bit misleading.

8 people found this helpful

Intriguing introduction

Would you listen to A History of Britain: Volume 1 again? Why?

Yes. The information is so packed in there. I finished this a few months ago, and I am afraid I have retained probably less than a 10th of the information.

Who was your favorite character and why?

King Alfred the Great. Brilliant.

Any additional comments?

Probably written for a British audience. Had the feeling that I was pretending to know what was happening half the time because I got disoriented in time and eras.

2 people found this helpful

Very engaging

Although the narrator did a wonderful job, I was slightly disappointed that Mr. had not narrated. I enjoy his style!!

1 person found this helpful

Masterpiece

Beautifully written and equally as well narrated,this detailed history of Britain keeps one eager to hear more as each chapter goes by.l cannot wait until the next two volumes become available on Audible.

1 person found this helpful

Riveting, rip-roaring read

Any additional comments?

Simon Schama made me feel as though I was hearing well-known stories for the first time. I knew very well how the Battle of Hastings turned out, but it didn't stop me from sitting in the car, long after my journey had finished to hear the thrilling end of the battle.

Schama writes beautifully. This book is mainly the story of the kings and queens of Britain and you should know that before reading it. He covers a lot of ground but Schama manages to provide enough detail for each period to give you a good grounding in the history. He writes with a light touch and the minutes fly by. I can honestly say I was not bored for one second and often I listened for much longer that I meant to just so I could find out what happened next. Which is saying something, because I knew exactly what happened next. That's what a good story-teller Simon Schama is.

Stephen Thorne's narration is just brilliant. Schama's prose and Thorne's voice add up to the most riveting re-telling of British History one could ask for. Highly recommended.

2 people found this helpful

Wow! Learned New Stuff, and Enjoyed it Immensely

Listened to this while hiking at Big Bend National Park. Loved every minute of it. In fact, I got so distracted listening to the section involving the Black Plague, that I hiked further than I had planned so I wouldn't have to stop listening. It was extremely well narrated. The writer does exactly what he set out to do in the premise, and I would recommend this to anyone who has even the vaguest interest in the history of Britain.

2 people found this helpful