Penguin History of Britain

Book series

The Penguin History of Britain is a popular book series on British history, published by Penguin Books. It appeared in nine volumes between 1996 and 2018, with many of the individual works subsequently being republished in several editions. Its general editor is David Cannadine, who also contributed a volume himself. Collectively, the books in the series span the period 54 BC to 1990 and include:

  • An Imperial Possession: Britain in the Roman Empire, 54 BC-AD 409 (2006) by David Mattingly
  • Britain After Rome: The Fall and Rise, 400 to 1070 (2010) by Robin Fleming
  • The Struggle for Mastery: Britain, 1066-1284 (2003) by David Carpenter
  • The Hollow Crown: A History of Britain in the Late Middle Ages (2005) by Miri Rubin
  • New Worlds, Lost Worlds: The Rule of the Tudors, 1485-1603 (2000) by Susan Brigden
  • A Monarchy Transformed: Britain, 1603-1714 (1996) by Mark Kishlansky
  • A Wealth of Nations? Britain, 1707-1815 by Linda Colley (To be published)
  • Victorious Century: The United Kingdom, 1800-1906 (2018) by David Cannadine
  • Hope and Glory: Britain 1900-1990 (1996) by Peter Clarke, updated in two successive editions to cover the period to 2000 and 2002 respectively

The series is primarily envisaged as a narrative history of Britain, intended to update the "Whiggish" approach of older studies. It was particularly intended to supersede the Pelican History of England (1950–1965) which, though influential, was considered "dated".[1][2] The series was intended to engage with "the fact of decline, political, imperial, military and economic" in British power. It was framed as "consciously British" (rather than English) and put particular "focus on Britain’s world position primarily with reference to the 'three circles' of Europe, the Empire and the United States".[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Walker, David (16 October 1996). "Rewriting History". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  2. ^ "David Cannadine: Interview". The British Academy. 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  3. ^ Ghosh, Peter (26 November 1996). "How We Got to Where We Are". London Review of Books. Retrieved 17 January 2020.