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This Sceptred Isle
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This Sceptred Isle
- The Twentieth Century 1919-1939 (Unabridged)
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Robert Powell
- Length: 3 hrs
- Original Recording
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Volume 2, covering the years 1919-1939, looks at a Britain ravaged by war and at the mercy of millions of striking workers. It also takes in the lighter side of life in the 1920s and 30s, including the first loaf of bread going on sale and the glory days of Fred Perry.
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This Sceptred Isle
- The Twentieth Century 1939-1959 (Unabridged)
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Robert Powell
- Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
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Volume 3, covering the years 1939-1959, takes a global perspective. Following the horrors of the Second World War, which culminated with the horrific bombing of Hiroshima and the onset of the Cold War, came the beginnings of popular culture: Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and the Mini.
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This Sceptred Isle Collection 2: 1702-1901
- The Classic BBC Radio History
- By: Christopher Lee, Winston Churchill
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Peter Jeffrey
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Original Recording
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The final five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle. Christopher Lee's epic history tells the story of Britain from the Romans to the death of Victoria. This collection includes the original volumes 6-10. 1702-1760: the First British Empire; the reign of George I; Britain's first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole; and the first rendition of Rule Britannia. 1760-1792: the Age of Revolution; the Industrial Revolution begins....
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This sceptred isle
- By Nyrond24 on 27-11-16
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This Sceptred Isle
- The Twentieth Century 1959-1979
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Robert Powell
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Volume 4, covering the years 1959-1979, includes the erection of the Berlin Wall, putting the first man on the moon, the Vietnam War, and the astonishing success of a young man called Cassius Clay. Closer to home, the Beatles generated worldwide hysteria and Profumo caused a scandal.
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This Sceptred Isle
- The Twentieth Century 1979-1999 (Unabridged)
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Robert Powell
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Volume 5, covering the years 1979-1999, looks at the Thatcher years, the Falklands War and the greatest ever Royal Wedding. Beyond Britain Gorbachev was influencing world affairs and, back in the nation's capital, a dome was being built to celebrate the approaching millennium.
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Very interesting - needs another hour ...
- By cw on 31-03-18
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This Sceptred Isle: Collection 1
- 55BC-1702: The Classic BBC Radio History
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Paul Eddington
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The first five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle. Christopher Lee's epic history tells the story of Britain from the Romans to the death of Victoria. This collection includes the original first five volumes.
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Out of order at the end!!
- By Craig on 23-12-18
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This Sceptred Isle
- The Twentieth Century 1919-1939 (Unabridged)
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Robert Powell
- Length: 3 hrs
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Volume 2, covering the years 1919-1939, looks at a Britain ravaged by war and at the mercy of millions of striking workers. It also takes in the lighter side of life in the 1920s and 30s, including the first loaf of bread going on sale and the glory days of Fred Perry.
-
This Sceptred Isle
- The Twentieth Century 1939-1959 (Unabridged)
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Robert Powell
- Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Volume 3, covering the years 1939-1959, takes a global perspective. Following the horrors of the Second World War, which culminated with the horrific bombing of Hiroshima and the onset of the Cold War, came the beginnings of popular culture: Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and the Mini.
-
This Sceptred Isle Collection 2: 1702-1901
- The Classic BBC Radio History
- By: Christopher Lee, Winston Churchill
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Peter Jeffrey
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The final five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle. Christopher Lee's epic history tells the story of Britain from the Romans to the death of Victoria. This collection includes the original volumes 6-10. 1702-1760: the First British Empire; the reign of George I; Britain's first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole; and the first rendition of Rule Britannia. 1760-1792: the Age of Revolution; the Industrial Revolution begins....
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This sceptred isle
- By Nyrond24 on 27-11-16
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This Sceptred Isle
- The Twentieth Century 1959-1979
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Robert Powell
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Volume 4, covering the years 1959-1979, includes the erection of the Berlin Wall, putting the first man on the moon, the Vietnam War, and the astonishing success of a young man called Cassius Clay. Closer to home, the Beatles generated worldwide hysteria and Profumo caused a scandal.
-
This Sceptred Isle
- The Twentieth Century 1979-1999 (Unabridged)
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Robert Powell
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Volume 5, covering the years 1979-1999, looks at the Thatcher years, the Falklands War and the greatest ever Royal Wedding. Beyond Britain Gorbachev was influencing world affairs and, back in the nation's capital, a dome was being built to celebrate the approaching millennium.
-
-
Very interesting - needs another hour ...
- By cw on 31-03-18
-
This Sceptred Isle: Collection 1
- 55BC-1702: The Classic BBC Radio History
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Paul Eddington
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle. Christopher Lee's epic history tells the story of Britain from the Romans to the death of Victoria. This collection includes the original first five volumes.
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Out of order at the end!!
- By Craig on 23-12-18
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This Sceptred Isle
- Empire, Volume 1: 1155-1783
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
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Britain had the biggest empire the world has ever known. At one time a quarter of the global land mass was British. Over a third of the world was insured at Lloyds. At his coronation, more than 400 million people saluted George V. Truly, the sun never set on this historical phenomenon. Whatever the day, whatever the hour, somewhere on the globe, the empire worked and played the British game, often absurdly so.
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Enlightening
- By G. Cooper on 01-11-07
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This Sceptred Isle
- Empire, Volume 2: 1783 - 1876
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: various
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Original Recording
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This is Volume 2 of the eagerly-awaited follow-up to Christopher Lee's highly-acclaimed and award-winning BBC Radio 4 series. BBC Radio 4's monumental history of Britain picks up the story of the British Empire at the point where the American colonies have become the United States of America with their triumph over General Cornwallis and the British army at Yorktown in 1781. These are the years when British influence grew steadily around the globe.
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This Sceptred Isle
- Empire, Volume 3: 1876- 1947
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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Story
Britain had the biggest empire the world has ever known. At one time a quarter of the global land mass was British. Over a third of the world was insured at Lloyds. At his coronation, more than 400 million people saluted George V. Truly, the sun never set on this historical phenomenon. Whatever the day, whatever the hour, somewhere on the globe, the empire worked and played up and played the British game, often absurdly so.
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Superb
- By Delboy on 16-12-06
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The Sceptred Isle: The Dynasties
- The Complete BBC Collection
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Anna Massey
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Original Recording
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The Sceptred Isle provided the definitive radio account of the British nation, from 55BC to the end of the 20th century. Now its attention turns towards the incredibly powerful families which have wielded power behind the scenes for the past 1,000 years. The Dynasties relates how the loyalties of this privileged elite, many of whom are older than the monarchy itself, were tested and rewarded; it also uncovers a multitude of murderous plots, bloody battles, adulteries, intrigues and shocking executions.
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Russia: The Wild East
- The Complete BBC Radio 4 Series
- By: Martin Sixsmith
- Narrated by: Martin Sixsmith
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
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Power struggles have a constant presence in Martin Sixsmith's story of Russia. Collected here in 50 episodes, he chronicles the Mongol hordes invading in the 13th century, through the iron autocratic fists of successive tsars, to the fall of the Soviet Union and Russia's re-emergence as a superpower. Sixsmith brings his first-hand experience of reporting from Russia in the 1980s and 90s to his narrative, witnessing the critical moment when the Soviet Union lost its grip on power.
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fantastic
- By Amazon Customer on 21-08-17
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The Stuarts
- The Epic BBC Radio 4 Drama
- By: Mike Walker
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser, Bill Paterson, Blake Ritson, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Original Recording
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Eleven BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramas telling the stories of Mary Queen of Scots and the Stuart royals. Under the Stuarts, Britain entered the modern world. But with great change came turmoil, and for 111 years, the Stuart monarchs faced dynastic struggles, religious conflict, the rise of parliamentary democracy - and civil war. These dramas chart that turbulent epoch through its royal family, from Mary, Queen of Scots to the ‘last Stuart’, Bonnie Prince Charlie’s daughter Charlotte.
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Well worth buying, as were the Plantagenet series (also by Mike Walker) 5* for the story.
- By Rufus on 02-09-19
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America: Empire of Liberty
- The Complete BBC Radio 4 Series
- By: David Reynolds
- Narrated by: David Reynolds
- Length: 20 hrs and 34 mins
- Original Recording
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David Reynolds' major BBC Radio 4 series explores the origins of the contemporary United States from its beginnings to the present day. This epic narrative tells America's story through the voices of those who lived it - presidents and farmers, mothers and children, settlers and soldiers, slaves and Indians. The series celebrates the country's achievements but also examines its paradoxes by investigating three abiding themes of American life: empire, liberty and faith.
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David Reynolds is a Ledge
- By jamie on 17-09-19
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Plantagenet
- The Epic Chronicle of a Dynasty
- By: Mike Walker
- Narrated by: Al Weaver, Carl Prekopp, David Warner, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Inspired by Holinshed's Chronicles, this series of radio dramas about the Plantagenet dynasty tells the story of the birth of a new Europe after the dark ages. The issues of control, freedom, belief and the temptations of power were new to an age which had no template for domination on this scale.
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OUTSTANDING
- By Ryanswhiskey on 14-10-18
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I, Claudius (Dramatised)
- By: Robert Graves
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi, Tom Goodman Hill
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
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A full-cast dramatisation of Robert Graves' brilliant account of the madness and debauchery of ancient Rome, starring Tom Goodman Hill as Claudius and Derek Jacobi as Augustus. The wickedly entertaining inside story of the lives and deaths of the Imperial dynasty from Augustus to Caligula is told by their obscure relation, Claudius. In public, Claudius is a stammering, drooling weakling, whose reputation as an idiot keeps him safe from office and assassination.
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classic at its classical best
- By Alison Ward on 15-12-13
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The Blackadder
- The Complete First Series
- By: Richard Curtis, Rowan Atkinson
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Original Recording
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Through the ages, men of flair, faculty, and outstanding courage have contributed to their country's heritage. Others, like the snivelling worm Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh (alias "The Blackadder"), have emerged from the dust of dodgy documents to claim their wrongful place in history.
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Good
- By Miss V. C. Frow on 18-01-18
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A History of Britain: Volume 2
- By: Simon Schama
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 20 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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The British wars began on the morning of 23 July 1637, heralding 200 years of battles. Most were driven by religious or political conviction, as Republicans and Royalists, Catholics and Protestants, Tories and Whigs, and colonialists and natives vied for supremacy. Of the battles not fought on home territory, many took place across Europe, America, India, and also at sea. Schama's examination of this turbulent period reveals how the British people eventually united in imperial enterprise, forming 'Britannia Incorporated'.
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Excellent, engaging but lots to remember
- By Roderic on 12-11-14
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A History of Britain: Volume 3
- By: Simon Schama
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 20 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Timothy West reads the third and concluding volume of award-winning historian Simon Schama's compelling chronicle of the British Isles. Here he illuminates the period from 1776 to 2000 through a variety of historical themes, including Victorian advances in technology and industry, women's increasing role in society, and the burgeoning British Empire which promised civilisation and material betterment for all.
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great history, great performance
- By Joff on 06-02-17
Summary
This Sceptred Isle: The Twentieth Century continues the story, taking us through decades of whirlwind change and technological advancement in a diverse and colourful country on the brink of a new millennium. Volume 1, covering the years 1901-1919, looks at the impact of the death of Queen Victoria, the growth of the Suffragette Movement, changes in the capital, such as the introduction of the first motor buses, and, of course, the far-reaching consequences of the First World War.
What members say
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Senior
- Dewsbury
- 27-01-16
Too Much Pre-war Politics, Not Enough of the War
By far the most significant event during this period was the Great War. You wouldn’t know it from listening to this part of the series. So much time is given over to the political events before the Great War. There are even references to domestic matters in other countries. The Great War, and the impact of it on the Home Front is covered briefly and inadequately. I think that the domestic aftermath of the Great War should have begun the next part.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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- Graham
- 15-01-15
Good
Very good that, although pretty brief, it managed to cover a lot of stories I had not heard of before whilst still covering the major events.
Wish it was a little longer though.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful