History of Britain, A - Volume I: At the Edge of the World? 3000 B.C.--A.D. 1603

Simon Schama

Miramax Books, Oct 25, 2000 - History - 416 pages

Simon Schama's magesterial new book encompasses over 1,500 years of Britain's history, from the first Roman invasions to the early seventeenth century, and the extraordinary reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Schama, the author of the highly acclaimed Citizens and The Embarrassment of Riches, is one of the most popular and celebrated historians of our day, and in this magnificent work he brings history to dramatic life with a wealth of stories and vivid, colorful detail, reanimating familiar figures and events and drawing them skillfully into a powerful and compelling narrative. Schama's perspective moves from the birth of civilization to the Norman Conquest; through the religious wars and turbulance of the Middle Ages to the sovereignties of Henry II, Richard I and King John; through the outbreak of the Black Death, which destroyed nearly half of Europe's population, through the reign of Edward I and the growth of national identity in Wales and Scotland, to the intricate conflicts of the Tudors and the clash between Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. Driven by the drama of the stories themselves but exploring at the same time a network of interconnected themes--the formation of a nation state, the cyclical nature of power, the struggles between the oppressors and the oppressed--this is a superbly readable and illuminating account of a great nation, and its extraordinary history.

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A history of Britain

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Readers should not be daunted by the ambitious timeframe of this first installment of Schama's (Rembrandt's Eyes) two-volume, popular history of Britain, which will accompany the History Channel's ...

Contents

• Acknowledgements: 8
• AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD?: 19
• Select Bibliography: 396

About the author

Simon Schama is an historian, educator, and writer. He was born in London, England on February 13, 1945. Schama earned a B.A. in history in 1966 from Cambridge University and later became a fellow of Christ College. Schama was a Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Brasenose College, Oxford from 1976 to 1980. He also was an Erasmus Lecturer in the civilization of the Netherlands at Harvard University in 1978, and from 1980 to 1993 he was Professor of History and Mellon Professor of the Social Sciences and Senior Associate at the Center for European Studies. Schama has been the Old Dominion Professor of Humanities at Columbia University since 1993, teaching in the history, art history and archaeology departments. Schama's 1977 book, Patriots and Liberators: Revolution in the Netherlands, 1780-1813, received the Wolfson Prize for history and the Leo Gershoy Memorial Prize of the American History Association. Another book, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution, won the NCR Prize for Nonfiction. Schama also worked as an art critic for The New Yorker and has written historical and art documentaries for the BBC. In 2001 he received the CBE. In 2006 Schama earned the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction for Rough Crossings. His more recent works include A History of Britain and The Sory of the Jews, both written in multiple volumes.

Bibliographic information

• Title: History of Britain, A - Volume I: At the Edge of the World? 3000 B.C.--A.D. 1603; Volume 1 of A History of Britain, Simon Schama, ISBN 0563384972, 9780563384977; A History of Britain: The Fate of Empire 1776-2000, Simon Schama; Talk Miramax Books
• Author: Simon Schama
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Miramax Books, 2000
• Original from: the University of Michigan
• Digitized: Jun 13, 2008
• ISBN: 0786866756, 9780786866755
• Length: 416 pages
• Subjects: History / Europe / Great Britain / General; History / General; History / Reference