Britain
Last updated: September 23, 2024
The UK or, to give it its full title, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a state comprising 4 countries or, more accurately, three and a half, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (The Republic of Ireland - Eire - has been an independent state for about a century). The constitutional relationship between the constituent parts has always been contested (often violently) and remains so to this day.
We have a lot of interviews relating to the UK, to its politics and history, its culture, literature and its royal family. Like the country itself, there is a bias towards England.
On the history front, we have Stephen Pincus choosing his best books on the Glorious Revolution, Matthew Green looking at London’s addictions, essentially the role that chocolate, tobacco, coffee and tea have played in the social life of the capital over the centuries. Ian Mortimer looks at Life in the Tudor era, Stella Tillyard at the history of the Regency Period and Juliet Gardiner at life in 1930s Britain.
A number of interviews looks at issues related specifically to the UK's Imperial history. David Cannadine chooses his best books on the British Empire. And Bernard Bailyn looks at the UK’s imperial role in his best books on Atlantic history. Julia Lovell looks at the Opium Wars.
Other interviews relate to culture in the UK. Interviews on Shakespeare, the UK’s greatest Romantic poems, the Oxford English dictionary, buildings in the UK, the English countryside and British Cinema, to name a few.
There are plenty of interviews covering UK politics. Jonathan Portes chooses his best books on Brexit. Murray Pittock looks at Irish Unionism, and Anthony Seldon on Prime Ministers. Peter Kellner looks at British democracy and David Owen on Constitutional Reform.
There are also a lot of interviews on the UK’s monarchy and the royal family. Hugo Vickers chooses his best royal biographies, and Andrew Morton his best on British royalty. Helen Castor her best on Queens and Power. Thomas Penn looks at Henry VII and John Morrill at Oliver Cromwell.
The best books on British Colonialism, recommended by Charlotte Lydia Riley
Various interpretations of imperial history have become deeply entrenched in the so-called culture wars. But this is nothing new, argues Charlotte Lydia Riley, author of the ‘alternative history’ Imperial Island: historians have always served political agendas. Here she recommends five of the best books on British colonialism.
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1
Fall Out: A Year of Political Mayhem
by Tim Shipman -
2
A History of Britain, Volume III: The Fate of the Empire 1776–2000
by Simon Schama -
3
The Time of My Life
by Denis Healey -
4
The Road to 1945: British Politics and the Second World War
by Paul Addison -
5
Things Can Only Get Better: Eighteen Miserable Years in the Life of a Labour Supporter
by John O'Farrell
The best books on Modern British History, recommended by Andrew Hindmoor
The best books on Modern British History, recommended by Andrew Hindmoor
What will historians say about the latest period in British history? What has stayed the same, and what is vastly different from our parents’ generation? Andrew Hindmoor, professor of politics at the University of Sheffield and author of Twelve Days that Made Modern Britain, recommends books that give insights into contemporary British history.
The Best Historical Fiction Set in England, recommended by Lesley Thomson
For avid readers always on the lookout for new books to fall in love with, finding a good author and reading every single book they’ve ever written is a not uncommon strategy. British crime novelist Lesley Thomson introduces some of her favourite books, all works of historical fiction set in England.
The Best London Novels, recommended by Iain Sinclair
A city of hidden depths and morbid fascination, by turns respectable and savage. Iain Sinclair picks five novels that capture the spirit and rich history of London.
The best books on Britishness, recommended by Matthew Engel
Britain is a bewilderingly motley nation of phlegmatic grumblers, says the author and editor Matthew Engel – a seaside resort-going, class-conscious people haunted by loss of empire, and we can’t even agree on what the country is called
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1
Modern Life & Modern Subjects: British Art in the Early Twentieth Century
by Lisa Tickner -
2
A Paradise Lost: The Neo-Romantic Imagination in Britain 1935-55
by David Alan Mellor -
3
Francis Bacon
by John Russell -
4
David Hockney By David Hockney
by David Hockney -
5
Richard Smith Artworks 1956-2016
by Alex Massouras, Chris Stephens, David Alan Mellor & Martin Harrison
The best books on Modern British Painting, recommended by Chris Stephens
The best books on Modern British Painting, recommended by Chris Stephens
Artists the world over interpreted Modernism in very distinctive ways, explains the expert curator Chris Stephens. In Britain, painters like David Hockney and Francis Bacon worked in transatlantic dialogue with their contemporaries in the US, producing “English-accented echoes.” Here, Stephens selects five of the best books on Modern British painting that illuminate its place within a global movement.
The Best Classic British Thrillers, recommended by Matt Lynn
Author Matt Lynn says that good thrillers need a sense of foreboding and tension – and a brilliant central character. “The thriller has always been a very political genre, a kind of snapshot in time”
The best books on Modern Day British Royals, recommended by Katie Nicholl
The Mail on Sunday’s Royal Correspondent, Katie Nicholl, looks at how the histories of the previous generation have shaped Princes William and Harry. She picks the best books on the British royals.
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1
Network Nations: A Transnational History of British and American Broadcasting
by Michele Hilmes -
2
Paving the Empire Road: BBC television and Black Britons
by Darrell M. Newton -
3
Behind the Wireless: A History of Early Women at the BBC
by Kate Murphy -
4
BBC World Service: Overseas Broadcasting, 1932-2018
by Emma Robertson & Gordon Johnston -
5
London Calling: Britain, the BBC World Service and the Cold War
by Alban Webb
The best books on The BBC, recommended by Simon J. Potter
The best books on The BBC, recommended by Simon J. Potter
The British Broadcasting Corporation celebrates its centenary this year. The beloved institution has always had a paradoxical identity: part monopoly and government organ, part commercial enterprise and government critic; part bringer of change, part defender of the status quo. Here Simon Potter, Professor of Modern History at the University of Bristol, talks us through the history and the transformations the BBC has undergone since it was first founded in 1922.
The best books on Boudica, recommended by Richard Hingley
Boudica was an Iron Age queen who led her people into rebellion against Roman rule in the province of Britannia. She was defeated, but only after she had burned several towns, including London, to the ground. Here Richard Hingley, Professor of Archaeology at Durham University, explains how to sift the truth from the myth, and why Boudica has remained an enduring source of fascination down the centuries.