Brief, but somehow very thorough

This book contains a summary of the history of 400 tumultuous years, in which many of the paths leading to the current state of Britain are established. Although brief by title, it is nonetheless thorough, conatianing a wealth of detail of life in Norman and then medieval times. The reading is occasionally rushed, with words piling into each other, but by and large this isn’t too detrimental. Recommended for anyone who’s forgotten ‘1066 & all that’ as taught in school.

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3 people found this helpful

Much too long!

What did you like best about A Brief History of Britain 1066-1485? What did you like least?

Much too long and would benefit from a cut to about 1/3 of the current length! After wading through a thicket of detail on various family connections (even when hardly relevant), frequent subclauses starting with 'or...' to hedge a previous statement, and the obligatory politically correct musings, one has often advanced but 20 years in around one hour's worth of listening. This makes it difficult to get an 'overview' of a period - which is surely what a 'brief' history is for?

One still misses a good, short, and to-the-point overview of British history. Somehow British historians seem incapable of achieving this, preferring instead to get bogged down in every little idiosyncratic detail?

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5 people found this helpful

An essential history lesson

Really enjoyed this book, it is very well read and written in a style that a layman can understand. As someone born of mixed heritage but born in England I felt compelled to learn the history of the nation I was born to... Highly recommended

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3 people found this helpful

Disappointed

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The reader

Has A Brief History of Britain 1066-1485 put you off other books in this genre?

No

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

He sounded bored and I found it difficult to keep up my interest. So much so I have returned this book

Do you think A Brief History of Britain 1066-1485 needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. I found the chronological order confusing.

Any additional comments?

I had hoped there would be more about William Marshall. He was hardly mentioned

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1 person found this helpful

Excellent potted history of Englands middle ages.

I really enjoyed this. I'm a big history buff, but my chronology of the middle ages has always been shakey. This book provides a solid grounding in the chronology of the period as reflected through royal reigns, but also provides plenty of broader discussion of the more day to day aspects of medieval life. It also spends some time setting the scene of Saxon England on the eve of the Norman invasion, and providing context for it. Which I very much appreciated as this is so often neglected in books that start in 1066.

Vincent is an opinionated, entertaining and sometimes highly acerbic historian. He has little patience for national myths, and seems to regard drunkeness and xenophobia as England's most enduring traits. But he also shows a healthy skepticsm for the more pedantic aspects of his profession, and understands that what the rest of us want from historians is to tell us what the past was like, rather than describe the minutiae of historiography.

My only slight crticism is that some periods seem to be dealt with much more briefly than others, but maybe I just wasn't paying attention evenly.

The narrator is good too: clear, crisp and well paced.

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Very good, well worth a read.

Extremely well-researched.
Impossible to keep up with the storyline at times. But that is through no fault of the author, just the subject matter in question.

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Making history interesting

An interesting but never dull or boring account of 1066 onwards. Brought the personalities and events alive. Fantastic

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1 person found this helpful

One of the best listens so far

I cannot vouch for the veracity of the history given here as I am not an expert so I will have to trust the author on that. However, the story, the prose and the verbal performance were top shelf.
What one would hope for in an erudite British non-fiction. Complete with comparisons to modern British history and with irony that had me howling with laughter or smiling with recognition.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

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A Quick Guide To England's History.

I liked it so much that I'm going to get all the 📖 📕 📘 📗 📓 📚
Excellent Narration

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Decent

2024 52 Book Challenge - 45) Chapter Headings Have Dates

This was exactly what it says in the title, except that it really should have said England rather than Britain. Anytime that it refers to any other part of Britain, it's only in relation to them having been invaded by England.

It focuses primarily on the royal family, and while this doesn't bother me because political history is my jam, there is barely any mention of the social or cultural history of England. I think it's mentioned briefly in relation to malnutrition being so widespread that people were very susceptible to the Black Death a couple years later.

I listened to the audiobook, and there were times that I had to rewind because the sentences were so long, it felt like each sentence was a paragraph.

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