This Country of Ours: The Story of the United States Volume 1: H. E. Marshall's "This Country of Ours" - Annotated, Expanded, and Updated

by H.E. Marshall, Donna-Jean A. Breckenridge

For many years, boys and girls have read “This Country of Ours” and its stories of the Americans. Now for a new generation of curious and wondering readers, something more is provided with this version.

This is the story of people brought together not because they are of the same race or ethnicity or background or even with a common journey here, but because they share belief in a core of ideas. Some of those ideas had to be forged in a fire before they were available to all, but they were American ideas still, and they were worthy of the struggle and worthy of the fight, to provide and protect that freedom for every American.

“This Country of The Story of the United States, Volume 1” is the history of America from the time of the Vikings’ exploration in the year 1000 up until the 1630s in New England. Donna-Jean A. Breckenridge has annotated, expanded, and updated H. E. Marshall’s beloved history book for today’s audience. Accurate tribal names, sources of quotes, pronunciation guides, and added and updated information tether this story to the historical record while maintaining the literary excellence of the original.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Childrens, American History, School

238 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 20, 2022

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

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treasure! No dull dry dumbed-down textbook here; this is rip-roaring, living American History at its finest. But Marshall’s writing was a product of its time and the world is different now, yet the stories of our great country remain the same. This edition not only treats those matters thoughtfully and carefully, updating terms that are offensive to our modern ears, it also uses the correct tribal names and adds historical notes to the end of each chapter detailing further information that has been learned since its time. I found the not-to-miss introduction a powerful testament to what history means to the individual and why it matters how we learn it. I can’t wait for the other volumes and will definitely be recommending this as a history spine for anyone interested in learning the living stories of our country and wanting to pass it on to future generations.

[Eliza Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This revised edition is worth every penny!
Very thankful for the editing out of problematic language that I tried to edit on the fly the first time I read aloud.
The extra notes are much appreciated also.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book through the years with nearly all of my children. I now was able to thoroughly read it for myself. I love this history book about the the United States and it's beginning. Thank you to Donna Jean Breckenridge for updating and annotating it.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only complaint is that we finished volume 1 before Breckinridge finished updating volume 2!

[Melissa Grice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first volume of this updated and expanded book covers America’s early history up through the time of the Pilgrims. We read this one slowly through the school year along with other books covering much of the same time period. Marshall’s love of history shines through, making this very much a “living book”— this is not a dry textbook of facts, but rather fascinating character studies, in-depth accounts of historical episodes, and excerpts and quotes from primary sources. Marshall has her own opinions and isn’t shy about them, which is wonderful, but also makes it important to read broadly from several authors.

I’m very thankful for Donna-Jean’s work in making this book more accessible to the modern reader, by tracking down quotation sources, adding footnotes and pronunciation keys, and changing out some of the language that has become offensive since Marshall originally wrote it.

I’m only giving this book 4 stars instead of 5 because apparently I find British history much more fascinating than American history. We are reading Marshall’s Our Island Story for British history, and our whole family enjoys that one more than its American counterpart.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm grateful that Donna-Jean Breckenridge chose to undertake the task of updating, expanding, and annotating this wonderful book. This new version is EXCELLENT. I appreciate that she has added citations for the sources of quotes and other information throughout. And I'm impressed by her tireless effort to accurately name the numerous native tribes.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not read a history book like this before! First, it covers the early days of colonization thoroughly. Most history books gloss over the period from Columbus to the founding fathers. Many original source texts are used which is great, and Donna-Jean Breckenridge’s updated make this old book readable which is wonderful!

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so well, redone. Excellent job, Donna Jean. I thoroughly enjoyed this much more over the previous version. The layout was very user-friendly, easy to read, and so much easier to get through.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

American history I didn't know I didn't know. So many details that didn't make it into the textbooks I studied in school! I love Mrs. Henrietta's story-telling voice and appreciate this lightly-updated edition by Mrs. Donna-Jean!

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this aloud to my fifth grader. It was a little above her level. However, we often stopped to talk about it and sometimes I switched the words for simpler ones. I would recommend it for 13+ years old. I found it fascinating!

[Meredith Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

with Ben & Mabry

[Lydia258 · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent history spine and very thoughtfully updated. I wish I'd been taught history in this way. Looking forward to Volume 2!!

[Jade Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciate the work Donna-Jean Breckenridge put into this updated edition. The notes and pronunciation guides at the end of each chapter are extremely helpful.

[Lacy]

This was my second read of this book, and my first with this edition by Donna Breckenridge. Great retelling of our country’s history. I have learned so much each time I read. Highly recommend.

[Julie Mabus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the original with my older children and appreciate the work Donna Jean to update and clarify the book.

[Kate Shivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this myself as a pre-read.

[Brit Chhangur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really thankful for Donna-Jean's work on this book! So helpful to have the beautiful writing from Marshall with all the notes and additions. Read it for a second time now, with Lucy!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

American history with the kids.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a fantastic resource in our homeschool and we can’t wait to read future volumes. This living book makes American history come to life and I’m learning so much along with my daughter (I took many college-level history electives years ago and still didn’t know half these stories). I haven’t read the “original” but the annotated version is absolutely worth the added cost, as I’m not distracted wondering if I’m pronouncing names and places correctly.

[Staci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic revised, expanded, and updated edition. My kids (10, 8, 6) and I read this for part of our Early American History studies this year. I've never read such a thorough account of our Early history. I'm looking forward to the other volumes.