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  • The Making of Modern Britain

  • By: Andrew Marr
  • Narrated by: David Timson
  • Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (145 ratings)
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The Making of Modern Britain

By: Andrew Marr
Narrated by: David Timson
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Summary

In The Making of Modern Britain, Andrew Marr paints a fascinating portrait of life in Britain during the first half of the 20th century as the country recovered from the grand wreckage of the British Empire.

Between the death of Queen Victoria and the end of the Second World War, the nation was shaken by war and peace. The two wars were the worst we had ever known and the episodes of peace among the most turbulent and surprising. As the political forum moved from Edwardian smoking rooms to an increasingly democratic Westminster, the people of Britain experimented with extreme ideas as they struggled to answer the question 'how should we live?' Socialism? Fascism? Feminism?

Meanwhile, fads such as eugenics, vegetarianism and nudism were gripping the nation, and the popularity of the music hall soared. It was also a time that witnessed the birth of the media as we know it today and the beginnings of the welfare state.

Beyond trenches, flappers and Spitfires, this is a story of strange cults and economic madness, of revolutionaries and heroic inventors, sexual experiments and raucous stage heroines. From organic food to drugs, nightclubs and celebrities to package holidays, crooked bankers to sleazy politicians, the echoes of today's Britain ring from almost every chapter.

©2016 Andrew Marr (P)2016 Macmillan Digital Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about The Making of Modern Britain

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
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Wonderful and informative

If you could sum up The Making of Modern Britain in three words, what would they be?

Interesting, factual, wonderful

What did you like best about this story?

This is a wonderful detailed but quick paced look at the making of Modern Britain. The gradual change of the British and the events that sparked them.

Which character – as performed by David Timson – was your favourite?

Winston Churchill plays a massive role throughout most of this book, appearing at various points and you can hear him in the quotes.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It's not emotional. Just interesting.

Any additional comments?

This is a really well put together book. Has lots of facts but never dull. It covers subjects in enough detail and the way the book links all the major points in British history is very smart. I learnt a lot. This is like the best ever history lesson. Very very well read also. Shall move onto the other book from the War until present day.

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5 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

quite narrator

I listen on my walk into and out of work and its good but the narrator is so very quite I have to turn my sound all the way up and even then if the traffic is bad I cannot hear them.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great listen

Performance is very easy to follow. Energetic but not exaggerated.

I loved the fact that it's not a "history for dummies" kind of book. It goes beyond politics and wars (though it includes them off course) to try and describe the british society as a whole during that period.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A panoramic overview

A good introduction to help understanding who we are and where we've come from, and what has transpired to help shape the Britain we know today.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely superb!

Very accessible, informative and wryly amusing. Great storytelling really brings it to life. I really enjoyed it.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Marr being Marr

This book smells far too strongly of Marr to fully enjoy. The nation's favourite public school Maoist turned BBC establishment stalwart, Marr has made a career chattering about palace intrigues - and this book is no exception. To give him due credit, his social history sections - on the musical hall, bungalows, air travel and the rise of car culture - are a fizzing tour de force of narrative sparkle, deserving a clear 5 stars. However, most of the book is taken up with the same kind of snarky observations of power politics you'll know from his BBC career. Bringing his arts grad perspective on life, the book is largely free of any kind of quantification, and he's clearly preferred sitting in his study with a stack of books rather than bothering to do any original research. Moreover, the stack isn't particularly high; in many cases, he seemingly creates a chapter by simply summarising a single book - nice work, if you can get it. (I'm now minded to flog an anthology of my own book reviews). Parts I absolutely loved - and I did recommended this book to a couple of my history buff friends. But, by the end of the book, I was pretty sick of it - the flimsy treatment of important topics, the obsessive focus on the Westminster bubble, and the endless, endless Churchill deja vu. If you think Marr is the best thing since sliced bread, you'll love this book. If you don't adore him when you start, you certainly won't adore him when you've finished.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very interesting

This book helps explain Britain’s place in the modern world. The wars changed everything and we probably still have not recovered from it all. There are also many little subplots that I’d like to explore more.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic

Thoroughly enjoyable, interesting, well written and well read content. A must for anyone with an interest in this topic.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent

Andrew Marr is excellent in both his research and his analysis. I don’t always agree with his analysis but I can’t fault the clarity of his presentation.

A thoroughly enjoyable and informative book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Well Made Book

Although much of the basic material is well known, Andrew Marr adds interesting, well-chosen details which lead to potentially unusual interpretations: roads less travelled. David Timson's narration is excellent.

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