Try free for 30 days

  • Legacy of Violence

  • A History of the British Empire
  • By: Caroline Elkins
  • Narrated by: Adam Barr
  • Length: 31 hrs and 36 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (18 ratings)

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
Legacy of Violence cover art

Legacy of Violence

By: Caroline Elkins
Narrated by: Adam Barr
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $43.99

Buy Now for $43.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian: a searing study of the British Empire that interrogates the pervasive use of violence throughout the 20th century and traces how these practices were exported, modified and institutionalised in colonies around the globe.

Sprawling across a quarter of the world's land mass and claiming nearly 500 colonial subjects, Britain's empire was the largest empire in human history. For many, it epitomised our nation's cultural superiority, but what legacy have we delivered to the world?

Spanning more than 200 years of history, Caroline Elkins reveals evolutionary and racialised doctrines that espoused an unrelenting deployment of violence to secure and preserve British imperial interests. She outlines how ideological foundations of violence were rooted in Victorian calls for punishing Indigenous peoples who resisted subjugation and how over time, this treatment became increasingly institutionalised. Elkins reveals how, when violence could no longer be controlled, Britain retreated from its empire, whilst destroying and hiding incriminating evidence of its policies and practices.

Drawing on more than a decade of research on four continents, Legacy of Violence implicates all sides of the political divide regarding the creation, execution and cover-up of imperial violence. By demonstrating how and why violence was the most salient factor underwriting both the empire and British imperial identity, Elkins upends long-held myths and sheds new light on empire's role in shaping the world today.

©2022 Caroline Elkins (P)2022 Penguin Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

More from the same

What listeners say about Legacy of Violence

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    17
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    12
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

We the people need to know

Very uncomfortable subject matter which highlights the inadequacies of our history education, and sadly, I suspect, more history like that described in this book, is being written today.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Elkins produces the evidence

This book is gold. One “read” is insufficient. It is comprehensive, and compelling in amassing the evidence of the British colonial project, it’s methods, personnel & evolution over time. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand contemporary government approaches to immigration, policing, law & order, rule of law in Britain & its former colonies. Highly recommended. Thank you Professor Elkins for the decade plus of research.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Compelling new history

Despite the difficulty and depressing nature of the subject matter this is history as it has to be told. the history of empire is overwhelmingly one of violence and repression. Claimed advantages are often illusory and made for unrelated reasons to the development of the tired. Caroline Elkins tells the lost or hidden stories of the cost of empire with great skill and a thoroughness that demolishes opposition. A great and necessary work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Genius

A compelling masterpiece which redefines the British Empire. A great book brilliantly read. Bravo! Thanks

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Changed my opinion on British history

Exposes the brutal and cruel history of the British empire, as well as the attempts to cover up, deflect and revise the narrative about the actions of the empires.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.