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Europe: A New History
A bold new history of Europe, from ancient Greece to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
What do we talk about when we talk about Europe? Is it defined by geography? Or is it politics, or shared culture? In Europe, award-winning historian Roderick Beaton tells the story of Europe as never before—as the history of an idea, and a collective identity.
Since its dramatic birth in ancient Greece, “Europe” has been defined, and redefined, by its people. Through this powerful lens, and with the narrative drive and scope of a novelist, Beaton deftly surveys Europe’s major historical the rise and fall of Rome; the explosion of Christianity; the intellectual ferment of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment; the arrival of Europeans in the Americas; the violent upheavals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; and the uncertainties of the present. Throughout, original sources allow the voices of the past, from Tacitus to Thatcher, to speak for themselves.
Grappling with the multilayered identities that have always come with being European, Europe places the Europe of today in a long arc of history stretching back more than 2,500 years.
What do we talk about when we talk about Europe? Is it defined by geography? Or is it politics, or shared culture? In Europe, award-winning historian Roderick Beaton tells the story of Europe as never before—as the history of an idea, and a collective identity.
Since its dramatic birth in ancient Greece, “Europe” has been defined, and redefined, by its people. Through this powerful lens, and with the narrative drive and scope of a novelist, Beaton deftly surveys Europe’s major historical the rise and fall of Rome; the explosion of Christianity; the intellectual ferment of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment; the arrival of Europeans in the Americas; the violent upheavals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; and the uncertainties of the present. Throughout, original sources allow the voices of the past, from Tacitus to Thatcher, to speak for themselves.
Grappling with the multilayered identities that have always come with being European, Europe places the Europe of today in a long arc of history stretching back more than 2,500 years.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
394 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 28, 2026
About the author
Roderick Beaton
43 books64 followersRoderick Macleod Beaton, FBA, FKC (born 1951) is a retired academic. He was Koraes Professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature at King's College London from 1988 to 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Did Not Finish
April 25, 2026What has been up with historians lately? Almost every single title published within the last two years that piqued my interest has been disappointing.
This one is very bland, basic, and doesn't cover anything that hasn't already been covered before. If you are completely new to European history, this might be useful, but otherwise, it's a waste of time. There are YouTube videos with more details than what this work offers, with the medieval period receiving a frustratingly shallow overview. What's even the point of this book?
The author also has an obvious liberal bias.
This one is very bland, basic, and doesn't cover anything that hasn't already been covered before. If you are completely new to European history, this might be useful, but otherwise, it's a waste of time. There are YouTube videos with more details than what this work offers, with the medieval period receiving a frustratingly shallow overview. What's even the point of this book?
The author also has an obvious liberal bias.
Read
March 23, 2026To call the story of European history familiar would be an understatement. From early childhood young Europeans are taught to see its stages – Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and so on – as the narrative superstructure of history itself. New events certainly occur and in time are inscribed into the history books, but rarely are they really so dramatic as to change the entire narrative thrust of European history.
Understandably then, Roderick Beaton begins Europe: A New History with a pre-emptive justification for its very existence, knowing that many readers will be picking it up with the same questions in mind: ‘Why a “new” history? Why might we need one? And what makes this one new?’ Perhaps a better question would be: how ‘new’ does the story of thousands of years of cataclysmic wars, febrile revolutions, apocalyptic plagues, transformational technologies, and social upheavals really need to be to be interesting? Beaton need not apologise for weighing down the nation’s bookshelves with another history of Europe. It is a great book, the kind of top-down grand-sweep history that can all too easily descend into drudgery when inelegantly handled. He follows a familiar enough sequence of events but plays with it enough that it does feel fresh.
Read the rest of the review at https://www.historytoday.com/archive/...
Luka Ivan Jukic is the author of Central Europe: The Death of a Civilization and the Life of an Idea (Hurst, 2025).
Understandably then, Roderick Beaton begins Europe: A New History with a pre-emptive justification for its very existence, knowing that many readers will be picking it up with the same questions in mind: ‘Why a “new” history? Why might we need one? And what makes this one new?’ Perhaps a better question would be: how ‘new’ does the story of thousands of years of cataclysmic wars, febrile revolutions, apocalyptic plagues, transformational technologies, and social upheavals really need to be to be interesting? Beaton need not apologise for weighing down the nation’s bookshelves with another history of Europe. It is a great book, the kind of top-down grand-sweep history that can all too easily descend into drudgery when inelegantly handled. He follows a familiar enough sequence of events but plays with it enough that it does feel fresh.
Read the rest of the review at https://www.historytoday.com/archive/...
Luka Ivan Jukic is the author of Central Europe: The Death of a Civilization and the Life of an Idea (Hurst, 2025).
Read
April 4, 2026Frankopan recommends it, so I will steer clear.
May 21, 2026
This is an ambitious and sweeping attempt to narrate the story of Europe from antiquity to the modern age. Having previously read Beaton’s work on the Greeks, particularly The Greeks: A Global History, I approached this text with high expectations. Beaton has demonstrated in earlier works an extraordinary command of historical material and a rare ability to synthesize political, cultural, and intellectual developments into an accessible narrative. That same scholarly rigor is clearly present here. The research behind this book is undeniably impressive. The breadth of sources, the chronological command, and the confidence with which Beaton moves across centuries and civilizations all testify to a historian deeply immersed in his subject. Yet despite admiring the scholarship, I found myself questioning the necessity of this book and, more importantly, the effectiveness of its vast scope.
The central aim of Europe: A New History is to redefine the idea of Europe by tracing the development of the continent not merely as a geographical space but as a historical and cultural project. Beaton challenges simplistic narratives of European exceptionalism and instead portrays Europe as a product of constant interaction, conflict, migration, and exchange with neighboring civilizations. The book begins with the ancient Mediterranean world, exploring the legacies of Greece and Rome, before moving into the Christianization of Europe, the rise of Byzantium, the Islamic expansions into Iberia and the Balkans, the medieval period, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, imperialism, nationalism, the world wars, and finally the modern European Union.
One of the book’s strengths is the sheer range of topics it attempts to encompass. Beaton discusses the Roman Empire’s administrative structures, the influence of Christianity on political authority, the fragmentation of Europe after Rome’s collapse, the importance of the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman presence in southeastern Europe, colonial expansion, scientific development, industrialization, and the ideological crises of the twentieth century. Throughout, he seeks to demonstrate that Europe was never culturally homogeneous and that its identity has always been contested and evolving.
However, this extraordinary breadth also becomes the book’s greatest weakness. The scope is simply too large for meaningful depth. Entire centuries and transformative events are condensed into a few pages, often leaving the reader with broad summaries rather than sustained analysis. Important figures appear briefly before disappearing again into the relentless march of chronology. Complex developments such as the Protestant Reformation, the Napoleonic Wars, or the collapse of empires in the twentieth century receive competent but ultimately superficial treatment. The result is a history that often feels encyclopedic rather than interpretive.
This raises a larger question about the need for this book in the first place. Histories of Europe are hardly rare, and Beaton’s account does not fundamentally alter established interpretations of European history. Much of the material presented here will already be familiar to readers with even a moderate background in world history. The broad narrative—that Europe emerged through overlapping traditions of classical antiquity, Christianity, empire, and conflict—is not especially new. While Beaton occasionally reframes familiar episodes in interesting ways, the book rarely offers genuinely original arguments or transformative insights. Instead, it often feels like a highly polished synthesis of existing scholarship rather than a groundbreaking reinterpretation.
That is not necessarily a flaw in itself. Synthetic histories have value, especially for general audiences. Yet the subtitle “A New History” inevitably promises innovation, and I struggled to identify what exactly is “new” about the narrative being presented. The text is comprehensive, intelligent, and highly readable, but it rarely challenged my understanding of Europe or forced me to reconsider historical assumptions. By the end, I felt that I had read a competent summary of European history rather than encountered a bold new vision of it.
Ironically, the book hints at several potentially fascinating approaches that it never fully develops. Beaton repeatedly acknowledges the centrality of religion in shaping Europe, yet religion remains largely one topic among many rather than the organizing principle of the narrative. A history of Europe told explicitly through the interactions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism could have yielded far deeper insights into the continent’s identity. Europe was profoundly shaped by religious coexistence and conflict: the Christianization of pagan societies, the theological disputes between eastern and western Christianity, the centuries-long interactions between Christianity and Islam in Spain and the Balkans, and the persistent yet precarious role of Jewish communities throughout European history. Framing the continent’s development through these religious encounters might have produced a more coherent and intellectually distinctive interpretation.
Similarly, the book occasionally touches on art, architecture, literature, and disease, but never long enough to explore their transformative power. A history of Europe through art would have been extraordinary, tracing how visual culture reflected shifts in political authority, spiritual imagination, and social identity from Gothic cathedrals to Renaissance painting to modernist experimentation. Likewise, a history centered on disease could have illuminated Europe in striking ways. The Black Death, recurring plagues, cholera epidemics, and influenza pandemics profoundly altered economies, social structures, labor relations, religious belief, and state power. Such thematic approaches might have allowed for deeper analysis rather than the rapid survey offered here.
Instead, Beaton attempts to cover everything, and in doing so the narrative occasionally loses focus. The book moves quickly from event to event, empire to empire, century to century, often sacrificing interpretive depth for comprehensiveness. There were many moments where I wanted Beaton to pause, elaborate, and interrogate historical developments more thoroughly. Yet the demands of the timeline constantly push the narrative forward before these opportunities can be fully explored.
None of this diminishes Beaton’s achievement as a scholar. The level of research and synthesis on display is remarkable, and there is undeniable value in producing a single-volume history that spans such an immense chronological and geographical range. Readers entirely new to European history will likely find the book informative and accessible. Nevertheless, for readers already familiar with the broad contours of European history, the book may feel less revelatory than its title suggests.
Ultimately, Europe: A New History is an impressive but frustrating work. I admired the scholarship far more than I enjoyed the reading experience itself. Beaton’s command of history is evident on every page, yet the ambitious scope ultimately prevents the book from offering the depth, originality, or interpretive boldness that might justify its existence alongside countless other histories of Europe. While I respect the monumental effort behind it, I finished the book feeling that I had learned very little that I did not already know.
The central aim of Europe: A New History is to redefine the idea of Europe by tracing the development of the continent not merely as a geographical space but as a historical and cultural project. Beaton challenges simplistic narratives of European exceptionalism and instead portrays Europe as a product of constant interaction, conflict, migration, and exchange with neighboring civilizations. The book begins with the ancient Mediterranean world, exploring the legacies of Greece and Rome, before moving into the Christianization of Europe, the rise of Byzantium, the Islamic expansions into Iberia and the Balkans, the medieval period, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, imperialism, nationalism, the world wars, and finally the modern European Union.
One of the book’s strengths is the sheer range of topics it attempts to encompass. Beaton discusses the Roman Empire’s administrative structures, the influence of Christianity on political authority, the fragmentation of Europe after Rome’s collapse, the importance of the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman presence in southeastern Europe, colonial expansion, scientific development, industrialization, and the ideological crises of the twentieth century. Throughout, he seeks to demonstrate that Europe was never culturally homogeneous and that its identity has always been contested and evolving.
However, this extraordinary breadth also becomes the book’s greatest weakness. The scope is simply too large for meaningful depth. Entire centuries and transformative events are condensed into a few pages, often leaving the reader with broad summaries rather than sustained analysis. Important figures appear briefly before disappearing again into the relentless march of chronology. Complex developments such as the Protestant Reformation, the Napoleonic Wars, or the collapse of empires in the twentieth century receive competent but ultimately superficial treatment. The result is a history that often feels encyclopedic rather than interpretive.
This raises a larger question about the need for this book in the first place. Histories of Europe are hardly rare, and Beaton’s account does not fundamentally alter established interpretations of European history. Much of the material presented here will already be familiar to readers with even a moderate background in world history. The broad narrative—that Europe emerged through overlapping traditions of classical antiquity, Christianity, empire, and conflict—is not especially new. While Beaton occasionally reframes familiar episodes in interesting ways, the book rarely offers genuinely original arguments or transformative insights. Instead, it often feels like a highly polished synthesis of existing scholarship rather than a groundbreaking reinterpretation.
That is not necessarily a flaw in itself. Synthetic histories have value, especially for general audiences. Yet the subtitle “A New History” inevitably promises innovation, and I struggled to identify what exactly is “new” about the narrative being presented. The text is comprehensive, intelligent, and highly readable, but it rarely challenged my understanding of Europe or forced me to reconsider historical assumptions. By the end, I felt that I had read a competent summary of European history rather than encountered a bold new vision of it.
Ironically, the book hints at several potentially fascinating approaches that it never fully develops. Beaton repeatedly acknowledges the centrality of religion in shaping Europe, yet religion remains largely one topic among many rather than the organizing principle of the narrative. A history of Europe told explicitly through the interactions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism could have yielded far deeper insights into the continent’s identity. Europe was profoundly shaped by religious coexistence and conflict: the Christianization of pagan societies, the theological disputes between eastern and western Christianity, the centuries-long interactions between Christianity and Islam in Spain and the Balkans, and the persistent yet precarious role of Jewish communities throughout European history. Framing the continent’s development through these religious encounters might have produced a more coherent and intellectually distinctive interpretation.
Similarly, the book occasionally touches on art, architecture, literature, and disease, but never long enough to explore their transformative power. A history of Europe through art would have been extraordinary, tracing how visual culture reflected shifts in political authority, spiritual imagination, and social identity from Gothic cathedrals to Renaissance painting to modernist experimentation. Likewise, a history centered on disease could have illuminated Europe in striking ways. The Black Death, recurring plagues, cholera epidemics, and influenza pandemics profoundly altered economies, social structures, labor relations, religious belief, and state power. Such thematic approaches might have allowed for deeper analysis rather than the rapid survey offered here.
Instead, Beaton attempts to cover everything, and in doing so the narrative occasionally loses focus. The book moves quickly from event to event, empire to empire, century to century, often sacrificing interpretive depth for comprehensiveness. There were many moments where I wanted Beaton to pause, elaborate, and interrogate historical developments more thoroughly. Yet the demands of the timeline constantly push the narrative forward before these opportunities can be fully explored.
None of this diminishes Beaton’s achievement as a scholar. The level of research and synthesis on display is remarkable, and there is undeniable value in producing a single-volume history that spans such an immense chronological and geographical range. Readers entirely new to European history will likely find the book informative and accessible. Nevertheless, for readers already familiar with the broad contours of European history, the book may feel less revelatory than its title suggests.
Ultimately, Europe: A New History is an impressive but frustrating work. I admired the scholarship far more than I enjoyed the reading experience itself. Beaton’s command of history is evident on every page, yet the ambitious scope ultimately prevents the book from offering the depth, originality, or interpretive boldness that might justify its existence alongside countless other histories of Europe. While I respect the monumental effort behind it, I finished the book feeling that I had learned very little that I did not already know.
March 19, 2026
Europe: A New History is a forthcoming work by the distinguished scholar of Greek and Byzantine studies, Roderick Beaton. The book sets out to explore what Beaton calls the “idea of Europe,” tracing how European nations have understood themselves in relation to a broader continental identity. As in his earlier work on the founding of modern Greece, Beaton’s approach is grounded in an interest in how nations emerge over time, shaped by enduring ideas and values that persist across centuries.
In this work, Beaton attempts an ambitious synthesis: a “new” history of Europe stretching from its “invention” roughly 2,500 years ago in the city-states of ancient Greece to contemporary geopolitical tensions, including the war in Ukraine. The throughline of the book is the claim that Europe possesses a deep and continuous tradition, expressed through successive historical moments: the civic culture of the Greek polis; the first multiethnic “superstate” under Philip of Macedon; the legal and political frameworks of the Roman Empire; the emergence of national consciousness during the Reformation; the balance-of-power system established after the Treaty of Westphalia; the universalist ideals of liberty articulated during the French Revolution; the cooperative diplomacy of the Concert of Europe; and, finally, the development of modern supranational institutions such as the European Union. Through this broad survey, Beaton seeks to situate Europe within a shared cultural and political inheritance, while also warning that its legacy faces mounting pressure from contemporary challenges, including an assertive Russia and a more distant United States.
Unfortunately, the book ultimately disappoints. Despite its framing, the history presented here feels neither especially new nor meaningfully revisionist. It offers few original insights, does not appear to engage with new source material, and struggles to sustain a clear or compelling central argument. Most notably, Beaton never fully succeeds in defining what the “idea of Europe” that has persisted over time is, especially given the continent’s long history of conflict, fragmentation, and ideological division. As a result, the book often reads less like a novel narrative analysis and more like a rapid survey of well-trodden ground. Covering more than two millennia in a single volume, it sacrifices depth for breadth, frequently skimming over complex developments without sufficient analytical rigor. Readers already familiar with the field will likely find little here that advances their understanding, particularly when compared with more substantial and analytically rich histories of Europe already in circulation.
In the end, while the scope is undeniably ambitious, the execution falls short. For those seeking a deeper or more original engagement with European history, there are stronger alternatives available.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this work.
In this work, Beaton attempts an ambitious synthesis: a “new” history of Europe stretching from its “invention” roughly 2,500 years ago in the city-states of ancient Greece to contemporary geopolitical tensions, including the war in Ukraine. The throughline of the book is the claim that Europe possesses a deep and continuous tradition, expressed through successive historical moments: the civic culture of the Greek polis; the first multiethnic “superstate” under Philip of Macedon; the legal and political frameworks of the Roman Empire; the emergence of national consciousness during the Reformation; the balance-of-power system established after the Treaty of Westphalia; the universalist ideals of liberty articulated during the French Revolution; the cooperative diplomacy of the Concert of Europe; and, finally, the development of modern supranational institutions such as the European Union. Through this broad survey, Beaton seeks to situate Europe within a shared cultural and political inheritance, while also warning that its legacy faces mounting pressure from contemporary challenges, including an assertive Russia and a more distant United States.
Unfortunately, the book ultimately disappoints. Despite its framing, the history presented here feels neither especially new nor meaningfully revisionist. It offers few original insights, does not appear to engage with new source material, and struggles to sustain a clear or compelling central argument. Most notably, Beaton never fully succeeds in defining what the “idea of Europe” that has persisted over time is, especially given the continent’s long history of conflict, fragmentation, and ideological division. As a result, the book often reads less like a novel narrative analysis and more like a rapid survey of well-trodden ground. Covering more than two millennia in a single volume, it sacrifices depth for breadth, frequently skimming over complex developments without sufficient analytical rigor. Readers already familiar with the field will likely find little here that advances their understanding, particularly when compared with more substantial and analytically rich histories of Europe already in circulation.
In the end, while the scope is undeniably ambitious, the execution falls short. For those seeking a deeper or more original engagement with European history, there are stronger alternatives available.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this work.
April 29, 2026
Europe: A New History presents an expansive exploration of Europe as an evolving idea rather than a fixed geographical entity.
By following the concept of Europe from its origins in ancient Greece through centuries of political, religious, and cultural transformation, Roderick Beaton demonstrates how identity has continually been shaped by conflict, exchange, and reinvention. The broad historical scope is balanced by the use of primary voices, which adds texture and immediacy.
The book succeeds in showing that Europe has always been more than borders or institutions. It is a layered and often contested identity, one that continues to evolve in response to changing circumstances.
A thoughtful and wide ranging work that will appeal to readers of history, politics, and cultural studies.
By following the concept of Europe from its origins in ancient Greece through centuries of political, religious, and cultural transformation, Roderick Beaton demonstrates how identity has continually been shaped by conflict, exchange, and reinvention. The broad historical scope is balanced by the use of primary voices, which adds texture and immediacy.
The book succeeds in showing that Europe has always been more than borders or institutions. It is a layered and often contested identity, one that continues to evolve in response to changing circumstances.
A thoughtful and wide ranging work that will appeal to readers of history, politics, and cultural studies.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Is Europe defined by geography, politics, or shared culture? Award-winning historian Roderick Beaton tells the story of Europe with a new approach; as the history of an idea, and a collective identity. over a 2500-year period. From the Greek struggles against the Persians to Russians in Ukraine, Beaton creates a context for understanding the notion of Europe as an evolving - but constant - notion. Very well written and accessible. Recommended. I appreciate the publisher providing an electronic ARC via Netgalley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was a thoroughly enjoyable book. Beaton does an excellent job tracing a through line of thought from Ancient Greece to the current war between Russia and Ukraine. Beaton is concise in his writing, but this concision does not come at the expense of depth of research. I wish this book had been 100 pages longer, but that would have gone against the spirit of the project he undertook. An immensely readable and informative book.
May 10, 2026
I read the first half diligently, then skim read the rest, picking out the bits I found interesting. Good to have in your library, to pick up when the mood inspires you.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews