A Brief History Of Britain 1660 1851

In 1660 England emerged from the devastations of the Civil Wars and restored the king, Charles II, to the throne. Over the next 190 years Britain would establish itself as the leading nation in the world.

Praise for the author: 'Gibson's well written and well-documented account of James and the bishops will surely become the new standard authority on these "implausible revolutionaries" for many decades.' Barbara Brandon Schnorrenberg, Anglican and Episcopal History In 1660, England emerged from the devastation of the Civil Wars and restored the king, Charles II, to the throne. Over the next 190 years Britain would establish itself as the leading nation in the world - the centre of a burgeoning empire, at the forefront of the Enlightenment and the driving force behind the Industrial Revolution. However, radical change also brought with it anxiety and violence. America was lost in the War of Independence and calls for revolution at home were never far from the surface of everyday life. In this vivid and convincing overview of the era in which Britain transformed the world and was itself remade, leading historian of the period William Gibson also looks at the impact of this revolutionary change on the ordinary citizens of Britain. This is the third book in this wonderfully concise four-volume Brief History of Britain which brings together leading historians to tell the story of Britain from the Norman Conquest of 1066 right up to the present day. Combining the latest research with accessible and entertaining story-telling, it is the ideal introduction to British history for students and general readers.

From the Battle of Hastings to the Battle of Bosworth Field, Nicholas Vincent tells the story of how Britain was born. When William, Duke of Normandy, killed King Harold and seized the throne of England, England's language, culture, politics and law were transformed. Over the next four hundred years, under royal dynasties that looked principally to France for inspiration and ideas, an English identity was born, based in part upon struggle for control over the other parts of the British Isles (Scotland, Wales and Ireland), in part upon rivalry with the kings of France. From these struggles emerged English law and an English Parliament, the English language, English humour and England's first overseas empires. In this thrilling and accessible account, Nicholas Vincent not only tells the story of the rise and fall of dynasties, but investigates the lives and obsessions of a host of lesser men and women, from archbishops to peasants, and from soldiers to scholars, upon whose enterprise the social and intellectual foundations of Englishness now rest. This the first book in the four volume Brief History of Britain which brings together some of the leading historians to tell our nation's story from the Norman Conquest of 1066 to the present-day. Combining the latest research with accessible and entertaining story telling, it is the ideal introduction for students and general readers.

Praise for the author:: 'For anyone researching the subject, this is the book you've been waiting for.' Washington Post From the death of Richard III on Bosworth Field in 1485 to the execution of Charles I after the Civil Wars of 1642-48, England was transformed by two dynasties. First, the Tudors, who had won the crown on the battlefield, changed both the nature of kingship and the nation itself. England became Protestant and began to establish itself as a trading power; facing down seemingly impossible odds, it defeated its enemies on land and sea. But after a century, Elizabeth I died with no heir and the crown was passed to the Stuarts, who sought to remould the kingdom in their own image. Leading authority on the history of the British Isles in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Ronald Hutton brilliantly recreates the political landscape of this early modern period and shows how the modern nation was forged in these febrile, transformative years. Combining skilful pen portraits of the leading figures of the day with descriptions of its culture, economics and vivid accounts of everyday life, Hutton provides telling insights into this critical period on Britain's national history. This the second book in the landmark four-volume Brief History of Britain which brings together leading historians to tell Britain's story, from the Norman Conquest of 1066 to the present day. Combining the latest research with accessible and entertaining story-telling, the series is the ideal introduction for students and general readers.

A Brief History of Great Britain narrates the history of Great Britain from the earliest times to the 21st century, covering the entire island England, Wales, and Scotland as well as associated archipelagos such as the Channel Islands, the Orkneys, and Ireland as they have influenced British history. The central story of this volume is the development of the British kingdom, including its rise and decline on the world stage. The book is built around a clear chronological political narrative while incorporating treatment of social, economic, and religious issues. Coverage includes: Early Settlements, Celts, and Romans Anglo-Saxons, Scots, and Vikings Scotland, England, and Wales Britain in the Late Middle Ages The Making of Protestant Britain Industry and Conquest Britain in the Age of Empire An Age of Crisis The Age of Consensus A House Divided.

Religion, politics and fear: how England was transformed by the Tudors. The English Reformation was a unique turning point in English history. Derek Wilson retells the story of how the Tudor monarchs transformed English religion and why it still matters today. Recent scholarly research has undermined the traditional view of the Reformation as an event that occurred solely amongst the elite. Wilson now shows that, although the transformation was political and had a huge impact on English identity, on England's relationships with its European neighbours and on the foundations of its empire, it was essentially a revolution from the ground up. By 1600, in just eighty years, England had become a radically different nation in which family, work and politics, as well as religion, were dramatically altered. Praise for Derek Wilson: 'Stimulating and authoritative.' John Guy. 'Masterly. [Wilson] has a deep understanding of . . . characters, reaching out across the centuries.' Sunday Times.

From the Great Exhibition's showcasing of British national achievement in 1851 to the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Stratford in 2012 and on to Brexit, an insightful exploration of the transformation of modern Britain This revised and updated fourth and final volume in the concise Brief History of Britain series begins in the specially-constructed Crystal Palace, three times the length of St Paul's Cathedral, in Hyde Park at the beginning of the second half of the nineteenth century. The Great Exhibition it housed marked a high point of British national achievement, at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, at the heart of a great empire, with Queen Victoria still to reign for fifty years. It was a time of confidence in the future, and exuberant patriotism for Britain's role in it. The beginning of the Second World War in 1939 marks a turning point because of the great change it heralded in Britain's global standing. At its peak, protected by the world's greatest navy, the British Empire stretched from Australasia to Canada, from Hong Kong and India to South Africa, and from Jamaica to the Falklands. Now the empire is no more: a fundamental change not only for the world, but also for Britain. The Second World War had been won, but it had exhausted Britain and marked the beginning of its national decline. Black links cultural and political developments closely - transport, health, migration and economic and demographic factors - in order to make clear how porous and changeable the manifestations of national civilisation can be, and to make sense of themes such as the triumph of town over country, Britain's international clout and the shift from the dominance of the market at the turn of the nineteenth century to the growing significance of the state. Importantly, he also looks at how public history has presented the nation's past, and how the changing and different ways we look at that past are central aspects of our shared history.

The urge to create pictures of our world has been with us ever since early man daubed a fingerful of pigment on a rock, or used primitive colours to create exquisite images of the beasts he hunted - images so breathtakingly powerful they have never been surpassed, however sophisticated we have become. This book tells the story of what painting has meant to us, and how its role has changed over the centuries. In the crisp, unstuffy commentary on each of 150 landmark works, Christie's art expert Roy Bolton leads us through the development of painting until our own age, where painting as a painterly craft has been overtaken by a proliferation of new forms introduced by contemporary art. To the question, 'Is the death of painting upon us?' the introductory chapter by Matthew Collings, the multi-award-winning TV art presenter, art historian and cultural critic, gives an inspiring answer: 'Painting justifies itself. Rather than pathetically struggling to keep up with the new freak-show culture of videos and installations, painting will only be worth having if it reconnects with its own inner life, where the old and the new are the same.' Roy Bolton's selection takes us from the Ancient World, via the Italian Renaissance, Rococo and Classicism to Impressionism, Modernism and the Contemporary World. Each painting, with its context and artist, is explained in terms designed to encourage us to judge art for ourselves. Written with authority and full of original and helpful insights, this is a history of art for our times. 'While I find it interesting to think about all sorts of art, I prefer painting to any of it. Painting is soulful, important, serious and humane.' Matthew Collings 'We need to de-mystify art by stripping it down to its bare essentials, then rebuilding it ourselves, using our own minds and eyes, without all the pompous clutter.' Roy Bolton