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English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable

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English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable

By: Lacey Baldwin Smith
Narrated by: Peter Noble
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About this listen

Here at last is a history of England that is designed to entertain as well as inform and that will delight the armchair traveler, the tourist, or just about anyone interested in history.

No people have engendered quite so much acclaim or earned so much censure as the English: extolled as the Athenians of modern times, yet hammered for their self-satisfaction and hypocrisy. But their history has been a spectacular one.

The guiding principle of this book's heretical approach is that "history is not everything that happened but what is worth remembering about the past". Thus its chapters deal mainly with "Memorable History" in blocks of time over the centuries. The final chapter, "The Royal Soap Opera", recounts the achievements, personalities, and idiocies of the royal family since the arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066. English History will be a welcome and amusing tour of a land that has always fascinated Anglophiles and Anglophobes alike.

©2007 Lacey Baldwin Smith (P)2017 Audible, Inc. Europe Great Britain England Royalty Imperialism Middle Ages Winston Churchill Latin America United Kingdom War British Empire English Grammar
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A great pocket history,very well written and performed. It is concise but includes interesting but little known details of English history

Informative and entertaining

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Really enjoyable and learned a bit too (Earl Grey being an actual Earl). Performance was really good.

Loved it!

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Really enjoyed the book, it was a great listen, which had no problems with showing English history warts and all.

Good simple history of the United Kingdom

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Loved it. Australian subjects should listen to this to understand our beginnings.
It confirms what we know and shockingly exposes what we didn’t.
I will also refer to this book if I ever tour Britain for places to go.

Brilliant

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A wonderful overview that I will listen to again .
Peter Noble has a liquid honey timbre to his voice and it is refreshing to get away from the American accent .

Beautifully written, researched and read.

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A interesting take on the formerly Great Britain. Predominately focused on the royal families from a historical perspective, yet told in an engaging, manner. Recommend for Anglophiles and those with a historical bent.

Humorous and captivating

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An excellent listen, Peter Nobel does a tremendous job on this book, great voice and just superbly read.
Lacey Baldwin Smith as written a classic which I thoroughly enjoyed, Felt at times it was a little anti-British so I researched the author who I found out was America but as I came to the end of the book perhaps I was incorrect to have this assumption.
It is a great listen and I highly recommend this book.

English History at it's Best.

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A great way to dip into history, this account draws on the more humorous aspects of many times and events to create a really appealing collection of information. Terrific narration and the perfect length to get across a wide range of topics.

Accessible and entertaining

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I love hearing and learning about the history of my ancestors homeland and where I come from.

Great storytelling combined with a great voice making it easy to listen to.

Fantastic history

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This was a really great overview of English history. Well researched and informative. Excellent narration. If you enjoy history you will enjoy this. worth a listen.

Great overview

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