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English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable

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English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable

By: Lacey Baldwin Smith
Narrated by: Peter Noble
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About this listen

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. English History will be a welcome and amusing tour of a land that has always fascinated Anglophiles and Anglophobes alike.

©2007 Lacey Baldwin Smith (P)2017 Audible, Inc. Europe Great Britain England Royalty Imperialism Thought-Provoking Funny Witty War Winston Churchill Ireland France King English Grammar

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All stars
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Pretty good detail without dragging it out too much, and a good narrator. Slightly monotonous after a while but I suppose that’s to be expected when we’ve had so many kings & queens over the years! Recommended.

Good narrator and content

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Interesting listen… I didn’t much of anything about the British monarchy cept for what we know now and a few of the popular names so it was good it listen to a few stories which has encouraged me to search for mire

Interesting

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This is an easy listen, made easier by the occasional humour.
It does what it says on the cover, highly recommend.

Sometimes funny, always informative.

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A big chunk of this book is just the repeat of the agreed upon version of the past.
Napoleon said: What is history but a fable agreed upon.
Here are some of the debatable parts of this book.

Henry VII had as much reason to kill the Princesses as had Richard III. As winners write the history books, Henry VII made sure it was Richard III who was branded as the murderer.
Mary was no more bloody than Elisabeth I . Mary killed protestants, Elisabeth catholics in equal numbers. Again, winners write history, Elisabeth's evil deeds were toned down, Mary's amplified. The Armada was defeated by atrocious weather and weakness from disease and NOT by Elisabeth I , but it was good for propaganda.
The only reason the Royal Families stayed in the country during both wars was to continue the monarchy. They would had NOT been accepted back if they leave when there is crisis. I very much doubt that they were rationed as the rest . Probably tucked away safely and well cared for.
The English language became important not because of Great Britain but because of the USA.
Monarchy is just a perpetuating snobbery and an unjustified expense on tax payers.
My belief is: if they wish to play Kings and Queens then they should pay for it themselves. They have stolen enough money from the coffer done the centuries to afford that.

HALF OF IT DEBATABLE.

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Enjoyable and informative. Easy listening and entertaining which is how I’ve ended up listening twice. The irreverence makes it feel much more honest and interesting than many equivalent histories.

I’ve listened to it twice

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I have been wanting a general overview of British history for some time now and this book sums it up very well.

Fantastic

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Exactly what it says on the tin, but very informative and insightful into the fallacy that is Great Britain, the conceit that was the British empire and quite possibly, the ‘own goal’ that is Brexit.

Brilliantly Irreverent

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I gave up when all the Romano and Dark Age history seemed to be just closed over pop history without any actual evidence based conclusions.

Mildly entertaining but

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I think this was a freebie (included w Audible Plus), but worth a listen if you are interested in a broad, brief sweep of English history

Enjoyable, not too serious history of England

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I enjoyed this book very much. The author delivers on what's promised in the title - English history is indeed made brief, pleasurable, and very irreverent. The book's tone is very witty and tongue-in-cheek, so if you take history very seriously, this is probably not for you.
Considering how short the book is, the author provides an excellent and in-depth account and analysis of historical events and their sociopolitical context, causes, and effects.
A nice little read. Recommended.

Witty and fun. Recommended!

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