The Story of Europe: European History from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the Protestant Reformation

by H.E. Marshall

This history of Europe begins with the fall of the Roman Empire, describes the gradual unifying of Europe's Medieval-era powers, and concludes with the Reformation and the Renaissance. Each chapter summarizes the achievements and mistakes of a given ruler or series of rulers, or describes sudden arrivals to the theatre of European politics. The first meaningful attempt at unity was through Charlemagne of the Franks, whose efforts served to unite disparate tribes and peoples across swathes of the continent under one banner. However the road to eventual stability was long and fraught with setbacks; weak monarchs, the ongoing decay of the Roman roads, and regional skirmishes made the establishment of strong European monarchies a goal that took centuries to consummate. Europe also sustained full-scale invasions, with the Moorish conquerors of Spain, and the Vikings of Scandinavia, described as ambitious and ferocious. Yet their intentions changed over generations from a raiding and warring mentality to one of permanent settlement and burgeoning trade. The Renaissance period had its share of crises, chief among them the Reformation; the formal split of Christians from the Catholic church set off a series of fractious religious conflicts spanning close to a century.

Genres: History, European History, Medieval

152 pages, Paperback

First published August 16, 2006

About the author

Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall (usually credited as H.E. Marshall) was a Scottish author, particularly well known for her works of popular national history for children.

H.E. Marshall is famous for her 1905 children's history of England, Our Island Story: A History of England for Boys and Girls, illustrated by A. S. Forrest. In the USA the book was entitled An Island Story. The book was a bestseller, was printed in numerous editions, and for fifty years was the standard and much-loved book by which children learned the history of England. However a lot of this book is historically inaccurate and much of it uses Shakespeare's plays for historical sources; for example, the section of Richard III is really a summary of the play. The book is still to be found in schools and homes, but the last printing was in 1953 and it went out of print in the 1960s. In 2005, an alliance of the Civitas think-tank and various national newspapers brought the book back into print, with the aim of sending a free copy to each of the UK's primary schools. Readers of The Daily Telegraph contributed £25,000 to the cost of the reprint.

She was educated at a girls' boarding school called Laurel Bank, in Melrose. Between 1901 and 1904 she was the superintendent of a hall of residence for female students at the University of Glasgow, but, otherwise, she appears to have made her living throughout her life by writing. She never married.

As is made clear by the Prefaces of her books from time to time, she travelled extensively after 1904, including to Melbourne, California and China, although her obituary in The Times stated that she spent most of her life in Oxford and in London, where she died.

Reviews

[Angela Bergeron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my 3rd middle school history spine on the middle ages. I love Eva March Tappan's Heroes of The Middle Ages and highly recommend that. I'm in the middle of reading A Castle With Many Rooms by Lorene Lambert and published by Simply Charlotte Mason with my kids. I think that provides a great overview of the time period to introduce it. This book comes in 3rd. I would only read it after you have a little bit of familiarity with that time period. Even so, I would get lost at times with the many, many names of kings. It covers a lot of ground over a large period. It's good for what it is though. I don't think it's as engaging as Our Island Story, but I think this is written for a later age.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to European history. Marshall's book covers the history of Europe from the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. For a book that was originally designed for young readers, the book is comprehensive in its coverage of European history, every corner of the continent is covered in the set upon timeframe, and the book is written in a matter that would make it engrossing to adult readers.

[Amy Best · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this along with Natalie as her core history book this past year for 7th grade. Told in more of a story form (as opposed to a textbook), it was an enjoyable read. There were a couple drier parts, and I didn’t agree with all the author’s perspectives, but that just made great opportunities for discussion with Natalie.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview (bearing in mind the need to occasionally provide context as this was published a century ago), but not as coherent or well written as Marshall’s other book I read to the boys (“Our Island Story”).

[Laurie Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids and I loved reading this book in our Dialectic homeschool history studies. Marshall makes history an easy and fun read for children.

[Myersandburnsie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed reading this authors histories.

[Alberto Lucini · Rating 3 out of 5]

A easy to read informative summary of the history of European peoples, which is unfortunately tainted by the author's obvious biases. This book is valuable for its basic portrayal of historical events, but everything must be understood from the author's perspective as written during WWI without the benefit of modern discoveries.

[Matt]

Turns out this is a kids book.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview for preteens and teens.

[w.lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to open history

A good read which was easy to understand and would recommend to a friend. The author has managed to cover most European countries.

[Aidan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a good starting point for basic European history. This book takes through the continent of Europe from The roman empire to the kingdom of the franks in France.