English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable

An informative overview of English history from Stonehenge to the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

"Peppered throughout with tongue-in-cheek illustrations . . .English History Made Brief takes us from the earliest origins of Angles and Celts through recent history, including the world wars and Thatcherism, and ending with a lengthy chapter titled "The Royal Soap Opera." It makes a fast yet meaty read, and will be invaluable to anyone interested in having a better, more updated understanding of English history." —Historical Novel Society

Here at last is a history of England that is designed to entertain as well as inform and that will delight the armchair traveler, the tourist or just about anyone interested in history.

No people have engendered quite so much acclaim or earned so much censure as the English: extolled as the Athenians of modern times, yet hammered for their self-satisfaction and hypocrisy. But their history has been a spectacular one.

The guiding principle of this book's heretical approach is that "history is not everything that happened, but what is worth remembering about the past." Thus, its chapters deal mainly with "Memorable History" in blocks of time over the centuries. The final chapter "The Royal Soap Opera," recounts the achievements, personalities and idiocies of the royal family since the arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066.

Spiced with dozens of hilarious cartoons from Punch and other publications, English History will be a welcome and amusing tour of a land that has always fascinated Anglophiles and Anglophobes alike.