A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Vol. 1: The Birth of Britain

The narrative commences 55 years before the birth of Christ, when Julius Caesar famously 'turned his gaze upon Britain' and concludes with the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. Along the way we encounter a plethora of closely observed characters, all of whom breathe life into the page: William the Conqueror, Alfred the Great, Richard the Lionheart, Joan of Arc. The beginnings of Parliament, the Church and the monarchy are all analysed alongside this comprehensive chronology. THE ISLAND RACE Britannia; Subjugation; Roman Province; Lost Island; England; Vikings; Alfred the Great; Saxon Dusk THE MAKING OF THE NATION Norman Invasion; William the Conqueror; Growth amid Turmoil; Henry Plantagenet; English Common Law; Coeur de Lion; Magna Carta; On the Anvil; Mother of Parliaments; Edward I; Bannockburn; Scotland & Ireland; Long-Bow; Black Death THE END OF THE FEUDAL AGE King Richard II and the Social Revolt; Usurpation of Henry Bolingbroke; Empire of Henry V; Joan of Arc; York and Lancaster; Wars of the Roses; Adventures of Edward IV; Richard III