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A History of Britain #3

A History of Britain, Volume III: The Fate of Empire 1776-2000

simon schama timothy west

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Simon Schama's dramatic, broad ranging, and immensely engaging history of Britain reaches its triumphant conclusion in this final volume, which stretches from the American Revolution to the present.
Despite being the first industrial society, the powerhouse of westernization, the first emancipator of slaves, Britain used conquest and coercion to become a globalizing power. At its height, what Schama calls the "empire of good intentions," Britain controlled a quarter of the world's population. But instead of nurturing its wards in freedom and prosperity, it presided over the famines and religious furies that would undo its power.
At the same time, Britain was discovering itself, beginning with the Romantic genereation in the wilds of Scotland and Wales. During Queen Victoria's long reign, previously invisible and inaudible Britons-woman, the working class, the colonized-found their voice and demanded their share. In the twentieth century, Britain's sense of historical isolation collapsed before the engulfing reality of two world wars.

0 pages, Audio Cassette

First published January 1,2002
Series
A History of Britain

This edition

Format
0 pages, Audio Cassette
Published
May 16, 2003 by Macmillan Audio
ISBN
9781559277662
ASIN
1559277661
Language
English

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About the author

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simon schama

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Sir Simon Michael Schama is an English historian and television presenter. He specialises in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University.

Schama first came to public attention with his history of the French Revolution titled Citizens, published in 1989. He is also known for writing and hosting the 15-part BBC television documentary series A History of Britain (2000—2002), as well as other documentary series such as The American Future: A History (2008) and The Story of the Jews (2013).

Schama was knighted in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 88 votes)
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88 reviews All reviews
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neoakira70
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 31,2025
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In his third volume of Simon Schama’s History of Britain, I think that Schama pulled up a bit on this final volume. I thought that the first two were better.
I did like the deep back round on George Orwell and how the changing Britain and Orwell's career shared ties and themes.
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ThatRandomDude
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 31,2025
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I have loved all three volumes of this stunning series and will read all of them again and use them for references. Highlighting key personalities and developing their character within the context of their time period makes the writing personal, intimated and riveting.
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Tsuna-Ryu
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 31,2025
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I really enjoyed this. First, on a shallow note, the book is gorgeous and has many beautiful reproductions of landscape & history paintings, portraits, and photographs. Secondly, the author Simon Schama picks just a few threads to focus on for his story of Britain so it's not all over the place (it's mainly about the history of social reform, the crap Britain repeatedly pulled in India and Ireland, and the ongoing battle between capitalism and socialism). My only complaint is that 1950-2000 is very much glossed over (he covers 50 years in about 15 pages!).
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hmfan24
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 31,2025
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Brilliant.
In this last volume of his incredible trilogy, Schama expertly wraps up the long petulant story Britain. Throughout he has taken care to mention the prominent figures in the arts and humanities so often ignored in empiric histories. The whole series radiates a certain enthusiastic love for the land and nation it chronicles all the while remaining honest of her shortcomings, and what a lack of applicable vocabulary forces me to label as atrocities. A mixture of exultant patriotism and an honest awareness.
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Sam_Lingdis
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 31,2025
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This concluding volume covers the history of Britain from the US revolution to the present. As you might expect, it is a broad survey of themes but that is OK. I have read more detailed accounts. The section on the establishment of the Raj in India was the most interesting part of this book.
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T3hSource
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 31,2025
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This is the most narratively obtuse of the trilogy. I think my expectations were set high by the first volume which I loved. It was narrative, and factual and enjoyable. The narrative in this volume follows certain historical figures within the time period and assumes you know a fair amount of history for the context. The period between 1776 and 2000. Unfortunately WW II was covered in less than a 100 pages with the focus figures being Churchill and George Orwell. I liked it but I could use more context.
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Plucaptain
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 31,2025
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friend of a friend brought this back from the UK and I picked it up over a succession of lounge-ings at his house. pretty good quick history read. revolves around things that transport you to another time: exhibitions, historic persons, and especially drew me in with the early 20th century details of H.G. Wells, Orwell, and Churchill.
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BlondieLottie
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 31,2025
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An interesting take on a large portion of British history, this work focuses not on a truly chronological progression of the empire, but on various figures, many of who are not well known, meandering back and forth along the progression of time to describe both their place and their effect on history. Of particular note was the strong presence of women in the work, not merely the few known entities of the Victorian era, such as the Pankhursts and Florence Nightengale, but also many less-remembered names who nevertheless had a strong impact on their contemporaries and a role in shaping history.
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