The Story of Britain

Ambitiously conceived and executed, this saga traces an island nation's slow rise to greatness--and subsequent decline. From the arrival of the Celts around 700 B.C. through Margaret Thatcher and beyond, the richly detailed narrative chronicles, in 72 brief chapters, the great events and people that shaped the character and destiny of Britain. Sir Roy, a former director of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, is a competent and lively guide; his brisk pace comfortably accommodates the general reader. More than 300 color illustrations enhance the text, though the absence of maps is puzzling. The story describes how a succession of mighty legacies--Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, Norman--together forged a distinct British people with their own national mythology. The empire rose to its apogee during the Victorian era, with one-fifth of the globe under its sway. The history of Britain in our own century is one of ""universally accepted Christian ethical values"" yielding to consensus politics and postindustrial consumer culture. (June)