Eighteen cover art

Eighteen

A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives

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Eighteen

By: Alice Loxton
Narrated by: Alice Loxton
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About this listen

Read by the author, Alice Loxton.

Biggest books to look out for in 2024 – The Guardian

'Loxton is the next big thing in history' – Dan Snow

At eighteen, your life is full of of what-ifs and why-nots. You have everything to look forward to – unless you’ve got the plague.

From a young Elizabeth Tudor, the orphan facing deadly intrigue at court, to a teenage Richard Burton, the rugby-obsessed son of a Welsh miner, historian Alice Loxton explores Britain’s past through the lives of eighteen figures at this crucial age.

How do you make a living in Georgian London with no arms or legs? What would you do if a world war interrupted your university studies? With plenty of wit and insight, Eighteen invites readers to join an eclectic cast of young Britons across the nation and throughout its history, to find out what makes us who we are.

Filled with fascinating stories of royalty, explorers, writers and entertainers, Eighteen asks what lessons we can learn for modern Britain.

'A whirlwind of historical energy . . . one of the brightest new stars of popular history' – Dan Jones

©2024 Alice Loxton (P)2024 Macmillan Publishers International Limited Europe Great Britain Historical Social Classes & Economic Disparity Sociology Royalty England

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Critic reviews

Smart, funny and should definitely be on your bookshelf (Greg James, BBC Radio 1 presenter)
Utterly, utterly brilliant. Fizzing with energy, wit and insight (Tracy Borman, bestselling author of Thomas Cromwell)
Riveting. A totally original concept, executed with flair and irrepressible enthusiasm (Jack Chesher, bestselling author of London: A Guide for Curious Wanderers)
Fascinating. Bursting with ideas and images. Loxton has the novelist's skill of seeing the world through her characters' eyes, and the historian's accuracy of vision (Philippa Gregory, bestselling author of Normal Women)
Entertaining, exciting and engaging. Eighteen is the story of Britain through the lens of the lives of the youth and that is exactly what we needed (Estelle Paranque, author of Blood, Fire and Gold)
A brilliantly original concept executed with wit and imagination. Loxton's approach is fresh, contemporary, full of exuberance but never at the cost of scholarship. If this can’t make eighteen-year-olds want to read history, I am not sure what could . . . (Lucy Moore, author of Lady Fanshawe’s Receipt Book)
Alice Loxton heads the charge of an exciting new generation of historians (Jessie Childs, author of The Siege of Loyalty House)
Vivid, exciting, vibrant, a world of youth brought to original dizzying life, Eighteen is full of magnificent characters and fascinating history and Alice is a thrilling guide (Kate Williams, historian and author of Rival Queens)
An engaging and insightful look into the lives of some of our key cultural figures at an important turning point, or rite of passage, closing the distance of centuries (Amy License, historian and author of Tudor Roses)
A unique approach to British history through the vibrant eyes of its youth (Hayley Nolan, historian and bestselling author of Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies)
Simply a joy to read. With wit, flair and keen intelligence, Loxton reminds us that young people have always faced a perilous world – and have prevailed with grit, grace and resilience. A uniquely hopeful and inspiring book, Eighteen will delight readers young and old (Leah Redmond Chang, author of Young Queens)
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Really interesting characters brought to life, you feel as though they are there with you

So nicely read

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Brimming with positivity and yet grounded in reality, this wonderful book inspires and motivates. It charters the human spirit striving to pursue the unimaginable.

Fascinating insights

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There was no audio preview on pre order and I think for me this would be better enjoyed read than listened to - unfortunately as i also paid for it they won’t refund or exchange it for the Kindle version.

I have the Audible version only

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interesting, educational and thoroughly enjoyable.
I just love how this book comes together and how the idea behind it is so innovative and how Alice Loxton makes me want to know more and more history all the time. excellent book. Thank you.

Brilliant

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interesting facts that I have not heard anywhere else. Great listen, alice helps paint a great mental image. review from a male 34.

interesting facts

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This book would only be half as long if it did not include imaginary interactions created by the author.
This is not just in reference to the short scenes between chapters, I can understand the gimmick of these even if it isn’t to my taste, but also within the chapters themselves. The author invents conversations between the historical figures she discusses and their acquaintances that we cannot possibly know happened.
This leaves the book feeling like a combination of historical fiction and factual reference book. Neither one of these two genres are bad but walking the tightrope between them didn’t make for an enjoyable reading experience and I did find myself seeing how long was left until the end of the book.
I can appreciate why the author may have padded the chapters out with these hypotheticals. She has attempted to cover a wide range of people as subjects for this book not just a small strata of society. However, this comes with the caveat that a lot of these people have very little written about them and do not have much evidence with which you can write a full, meaty chapter.
For me, I don’t think the concept of looking at the early lives of people who we do not know that much about works. It is ,again, a clashing of two good ideas in a way that just doesn’t work. I could see myself really enjoying a book about the early lives of historical figures where we have detailed accounts of what happened to them as they grew up. Equally, I can see myself really enjoying a book about more obscure people in history who may miss out on inclusion in most history books. I didn’t enjoy the product of the amalgamation of the two.
Adding on to this the glaring omission of the long and glorious premiership of Liz Truss when the author was discussing our female prime ministers at the end of the book just left me a bit disappointed with the book overall.

Wouldn’t recommend

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oh why do authors so often read their own books.. you may be a great research historian and a competent author but you are absolutely not a narrator unless of course this book is supposed to be bedtime stories for 5 year olds. Sadly couldn't even finish the chapter on Bede before abandoning the book.

disappointing

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