Product Description

From ancient times to the present day, the story of England has been laced with drama, intrigue, courage and passion - a rich and vibrant narrative of heroes and villains, kings and rebels, artists and highwaymen, bishops and scientists. Now, in Great Tales of English History, Robert Lacey captures one hundred of the most pivotal moments: the stories and extraordinary characters who helped shape a nation. This first volume begins in 7150 BC with the life and death of Cheddar Man and ends in 1381with Wat Tyler and the Peasants' Revolt. We meet the Greek navigator Pytheus, whose description of the Celts as prettanike (the 'painted people') yielded the Latin word Britannici. We witness the Roman victory celebrations of AD 43, where a squadron of elephants were paraded through Colchester. And we visit the New Forest, in 1100, and the mysterious shooting of King William Rufus. Packed with insight, humour and fascinating detail, Robert Lacey brings the stories that made England brilliantly to life. From Ethelred the Unready to Richard the Lionheart, the Venerable Bede to the Black Prince, this is, quite simply, history as history should be told.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #144640 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 276 pages

Review
'Beautifully written, full of things you didn't know and well worth a read if you want a new view on stories you though you already understood' - LIVING HISTORY 'A great introduction to history and legend for children and adults who've forgotten' OBSERVER 'These human high-spots flash past like a newsreel with the leading characters in close-up, leaving you thinking - what an exceptional country ours is to produce so many interesting people' Books of the Year, DAILY MAIL 'Lacey's lively snapshots are always pithy and are delivered with a winning gung-ho enthusiasm' Books of the Year, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Sue Arnold, Guardian
'It's all here . . . I relished every minute'

About the Author
Robert Lacey won international renown for his book MAJESTY in 1977. He has written many bestsellers since, including his co-authored history classic THE YEAR 1000.

Customer Reviews

History for non-historians
I bought this book as I have always been very interested in, but fairlyignorant of, the history of this great country.
The author takes you on a rollercoaster ride through the early history ofEngland, presenting 'snap-shots' of important people and events in small,focused chapters of between three and six pages. This may sound too short,and I can see from other reviews that this is not everyones cup of tea,but I found the length just right.
If you are an avid historian or have a great deal of prior knowledge ofEnglish history then this book is probably not for you. If you are seekingvast detail on one particular event in English history then this book isprobably not for you. However, if the history of England is new to you, oryour memory of school history lessons is somewhat clouded, then this bookis a fantastic introduction or re-introduction to the fascinating past ofthis country.
The author has stirred my interest in so many different events that I amdetermined to study them in greater depth at a later date. I cannot praisethis book higher than that.

History Told As It Should Be
I love this book. Robert Lacey portrays characters and events from English history in an easy to understand and enjoyable to read format. While the chapters are short, Lacey uses plenty of great detail to make the avid fan of history happy and still succeeds at keeping the casual reader entertained.

I strongly recommend this book to everyone.

Accessible history part 1
I first discovered Robert Lacey as an author from his book 'The Year 1000'. Interesting, accessible, easy to follow, with a good balance of detail and breadth (always a tricky task when writing a popular history), that book was one of my favourites around the turn of the second millennium. I discovered this book after finding the second volume of this set on the shelves of my local library, and have found it equally worthwhile and fun to read.

This book focuses upon the period from Britain's prehistoric period up to the Middle Ages (the second volume concentrates on the late Middle Ages to the post-Reformation era in English history) - in royal terms, the times of the pre-Norman Conquest kingdoms and invasions, and the early Plantagenets. In years, this goes from the years around 7000 BC to the late 1300s (Wat Tyler and the Peasants' Revolt).

One of the things that I like a lot about this particular history is that the stories are brief and self-contained while being part of the overall flow of the history of England. They make for good bed-time reading (the longest of the stories is barely seven pages long, in easy print and easy, storytelling language). Many of the characters are already familiar figures even to those who aren't Anglophiles - William the Conqueror, Alfred the Great, Boadicea, Thomas Becket and Richard the Lionhearted. Then there will be figures that are lesser known but just as interesting - the Cheddar Man (no, he wasn't made of cheese) from 7000s BC and the Fair Maids of Kent (a story with the foundation of the Order of the Garter). These are tales told in a simplified but memorable manner, and could serve for younger and older readers as a stimulus for further reading and investigation about topics brought up in the text.

There are a few maps, royal lineage charts, and woodcut/line art drawings throughout the text. Lacey includes a bibliography for further reading (this contains a good number of website addresses for making further research very easy). There is also an index, which many popular histories forget, but Lacey is to be highly praised for including one here, making looking up particular names, places and events very easy.