A Brief History of Roman Britain

1) A Brief History of Roman Britain – J.P. Alcock
Robinson | 2011 | EPUB

In BC 55 Julius Caesar came, saw, conquered and then left. It was not until AD 43 that the Emperor Claudius crossed the channel and made Britain the western outpost of the Roman Empire that would span from the Scottish border to Persia. For the next 400 years the island would be transformed. Within that period would see the rise of Londinium, almost immediately burnt to the ground in 60 AD by Boudicca; Hadrian’s Wall which was constructed in 112 AD to keep the northern tribes at bay as well as the birth of the Emperor Constantine in third century York. Interwoven with the historical narrative is a social history of the period showing how roman society grew in Britain.

2) A Brief History of Britain, 1066–1485: The Birth of a Nation – Nicholas Vincent
Robinson | 2011 | EPUB

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.

3) A Brief History of Britain, 1485-1660: The Tudor and Stuart Dynasties – Ronald Hutton
Robinson | 2011 | EPUB

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. Firstly the Tudors, who won the crown on the battlefield and changed both the nature of kingship but also the nation itself. England became a Protestant nation and began to establishment itself as a trading power; facing down impossible odds it defeated its enemies on land and sea. Yet after a century Elizabeth I died with no heir and the crown was passed to the Stuarts, who were keen to remould the kingdom in their own image. Leading Historian, Ronald Hutton brilliantly recreates the political landscape over this early modern period and shows how the modern nation was forged in these anxious, transformative years. Combining skilful pen portraits of the leading figures, culture, economics and accounts of everyday life, he reveals insights in this key era in our nation’s story. This the second 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.

4) A Brief History of Britain, 1660-1851: The Making of the Nation – William Gibson
Robinson | 2011 | EPUB

How Great Britain was born – from the restoration to the Great Exhibition. 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 – the centre of burgeoning Empire, at the forefront of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. However, radical change also brought with it anxiety and violence. America is lost in the War of Independence and calls for revolution at home are never far from the surface of everyday life. In this scintillating overview of the era in which Britain changed the world, and how that nation was transformed as a result. William Gibson also looks at the impact of this transformation had upon the ordinary men and women. This the is the third 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.

5) A Brief History of Britain, 1851-2010: A Nation Transformed – Jeremy Black
Robinson | 2011 | EPUB

From the Great Exhibition to the Credit Crunch – the transformation of Britain from the world’s greatest nation to the present day In 1851 Queen Victoria opened the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, it was the high water mark of English achievement – the nation at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, at the heart of a burgeoning Empire, with a queen who would reign for another 50 years. In the following 150 years, the fate of the nation has faced turmoil and transformation. But it is too simple to talk of decline? Has Great Britain sacrificed its identity in order to stay part of the present world order. Leading historian, Jeremy Black, completes the landmark four volume Brief History of Britain series with a brilliant, insightful examination of how present day Britain was formed.