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Victorious Century

The United Kingdom, 1800-1906

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About this listen

To live in 19th-century Britain was to experience an astonishing series of changes, of a kind for which there was simply no precedent in the human experience. There were revolutions in transport, communication and work; cities grew vast; and scientific ideas made the intellectual landscape unrecognisable. This was an exhilarating time but also a horrifying one.

In his dazzling new book, David Cannadine has created a bold, fascinating new interpretation of the British 19th century in all its energy and dynamism, darkness and vice. This was a country which saw itself at the summit of the world. And yet it was a society also convulsed by doubt, fear and introspection. Repeatedly, politicians and writers felt themselves to be staring into the abyss - and what is seen sometimes seen as an era of irritating self-belief was in practice obsessed by a sense of its own fragility, whether as a great power or as a moral force.

Victorious Century is an extraordinarily enjoyable book - its author catches the relish, humour and theatricality of the age but also the dilemmas of a kind with which we remain familiar today. It reframes a time at once strangely familiar and yet wholly unlike our own.

©2017 David Cannadine (P)2017 Audible, Ltd Europe Great Britain History History & Culture Capitalism Imperialism England Socialism Winston Churchill Technology United Kingdom British Empire Middle Ages Africa Royalty Taxation Soviet Union Latin American Russia Self-Determination Interwar Period
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Interesting book with great narration, however, the unnecessary overuse of the phrase “to be sure” and the word “hence” is incredibly distracting.

Interesting book

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I found this history somewhat disappointing. Although David Cannadine presents an authoritative, comprehensive and highly listenable panorama of 19th century Britain, its very length means that it's impossible to devote sufficient attention to particular individuals and events pivotal to the Victorian century.

Somewhat disappointing

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I really rate David Cannadine and have read several of his books. The risk is that you find him repeating himself a bit from previous titles but that’s fine. Helps refresh the memory. And as an interesting and informative narrative this did not disappoint
What is annoying is the very poor pronunciation of the reader. Did no one check? Is there not an editor? He also went at it a bit too fast and tripped over himself in terms of syntax and sense. But then didn’t go for another take. Or if he did no one listened. There were too many instances to make it a comfortable listen.
Examples which stuck so much I remember include Iveagh, Harewood, Beauchamp and even Cadogan plus countless other given and place names and even some ordinary nouns.

Good story, frustrating listen

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It's obviously hard to cover the whole of a period in one book but this had just about the right level of detail for me and I found it really informative. It's the sort of book you probably need to listen to 2 or 3 times to get the most out of as there is a lot to take in but would highly recommend for a good overview of the period. Very well narrated too.

Fascinating history of Victorian Britain

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Or is it? I thought this was a book on "Victoria's Century" ie reign of Queen Victoria. It isn't it covers the period from the Napoleonic wars until WW1 and thus was an excellent surprise. Really good book and a good listen.

Not a Pun

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