Author:Jonathan Clark
Scholarship on the history of the British Isles is currently experiencing a golden age. The breakdown of modernism and the eclipse of both the Marxist tradition and the 'Whig interpretation' that sees all history as progress, combined with the trajectories of nationalism in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, have generated unprecedented intellectual activity.
Nor has the world stood still: the collapse of communism, the issue of integration into the EU, and the advance of multiculturalism have led more and more people in the English speaking world as a whole to sense that their collective landscape now looks profoundly different from that inhabited by their ancestors even a few decades ago.
In A World By Itself, six distinguished historians offer the most definitive and compelling history of the British Isles to date. Tracing the political, religious and material cultures from the Romans to the present day, this is at once an urgent reassessment of our shared past, and an inspirational celebration of British history. It focuses on the major themes and most dramatic moments of the last two millenia: the rise and fall of empires; reformation, revolution and restoration; wars both civil and global; and the enduring question of what it means to be British.
A thought provoking and uncompromising book...[which] will surely influence the way we regard ourselves and our country (not just Britain but also Scotland) in the years to come
—— Trevor Royle , Sunday Herald[A] confident and fascinating history of Britain... Masterful... It is a volume that speaks well to our own sense of Britain today as a globalised, trading island retreating back to the edges of power... damned good
—— Tristram Hunt , ObserverThis single-volume history manages to combine a balanced new survey of the past with a rousing declaration of the historian's moral obligations... This is a very good book to have on the shelf
—— Christian Tyler , Financial TimesI thoroughly recommend the book, written by a collection of top-hole experts in their field... Excellent
—— A. N. Wilson[A World By Itself] tells how a small group of islands on the rain-swept edge of the Roman Empire came to shape the civilised world, effectively inventing parliamentary democracy, industrialisation, free trade and globalisation, as well as bequeathing to posterity the greatest body of literature on earth
—— Dominic Sandbrook , Daily TelegraphA massive work of scholarship
—— GuardianCompelling
—— ScotsmanImpressive
—— History TodayElegant, sensitive, beautifully paced and moving. [Claire Harman] has... produced a work that is affirmative, edifying, inspiring and humane
—— Sunday ExpressRevelatory (...) adds freshness and texture to her account with original speculations. As someone who once wrote a book about the Brontës' afterlives, few people can have read as many biographies of them as I have. I thought I was Brontë-ed out, but reading this book-which will be equally accessible to someone coming to Charlotte for the first time-has drawn me back in
—— Lucasta Miller, The IndependentThree rounds of applause...for Claire Harman's superb retelling of Charlotte's story
—— Mark Bostridge, The Spectator[An] excellent new bicentennial biography....Ms. Harman writes with warmth and a fine understanding of Ms. Brontë's literary significance. Above all, she is a storyteller, with a sense of pace and timing, relish for a good scene and a wry sense of humour
—— EconomistA vigorous new biography (...) Harman does a splendid job
—— Mail on SundayAn immensely readable biography
—— Woman and HomeA substantial biography (...) that lets the disparate pieces speak for themselves
—— Daily TelegraphHarman renders her daring novels fresh, interweaving what shocked critics then with what surprises us still
—— Sunday TelegraphPrepare to suffer similar time-loss at the hands of Harman, Brontë's most recent biographer and a master storyteller in her own right. Level-headed, highly readable and always intelligent, Harman's account of Brontë's life and work is a delight from start to finish
—— Sunday TimesA subtle, measured biography, full of insight into Bronte's fiery intellect as well as the tragic intensity of her experience
—— Helen Dunmore, ObserverHarman brings a fresh eye to many of the same papers studied by Gaskell to compile her Charlotte Brontë: A Life. The Gothic atmosphere and heart-breaking details remain, but Harman achieves a great feat by making the story seem new again
—— Marcus Field, IndependentGripping, constantly surprising: a page-turner. We hear at first hand the life stories of women from different walks of life, from factory workers to debs. Each story draws you right in and it's always a wrench to move on
—— Country LifeA sparkling and fascinating account
—— David E. HoffmanWell-paced narrative...of great relevance today, when such conflicts seem (but only seem) to have disappeared.
—— Richard Pevear and Larissa VolokhonskyImmensely compelling
—— Fred Hiatt , The Pat BankerMeticulously researched
—— Duncan White , Irish IndependentThe true strength of this meticulously researched book is the placing of the revelations into the context of a compelling human drama
—— Weekly TelegraphEngrossing
—— Andrew Lynch , Sunday Business Post[An] outstanding treasure of literature
—— Market OracleImpeccably researched, and moving, this book breaks new ground
—— 5 stars , Sunday Telegraph