A Short History of England

by R.J. White

This is an agreeable narrative, easy to read, of the history of the English nation through twenty centuries. It is intended for the reader who wants a comprehensive survey that brings out the important lines of development but does not clog the story with too many facts, dates, treaties and battles. Underlying the account is a professional scholar's acquaintance with historical scholarship, conveyed as a stimulating succession of ideas. The reader gets a strong sense of the evolution of English society: the mixture of law, custom and innovation in its constitutional history; its curious blend of characteristics. There are numerous lively - and sometimes surprising - quotations from the sources. Its compass is the whole field of English history from the Roman occupation to the end of the nineteenth century; a brief postscript brings the story up to the present day.

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1967

Reviews

[Cappuccino]

I don’t think there’s a more difficult book to follow than this one. It’s the lack of any sort of time line that makes this book be below standards.
Moreover, the usage of a complex vocabulary defeats the point that the book states on the back cover, contradicting itself indirectly.
Nevertheless, if you are on the look for some specific fact of English history, it might be worth trying to find it for free. But for what is worth, I wouldn’t pay the full price of a physical copy.

[Chakib Sofiane]

England is said in this book to have lost her raison d'être in 1914, and hadn't found a new one by the date of publication of this book.

England's raison d'être today is that of keeping the wheel spinning, which I find to be wrong.

[Shannon]

Not at all the general timeline I was looking for. There is informative writing, but having no timeline and jumping back and forth from king to king makes this read more exhausting than I imagined. Definitely not a good starting resource.