Foundation

The author writes on page 424 of my copy “The coffin was later used as a horse trough, and the bones of Richard III scattered.” Well that turned out to be a bit of bad luck in terms of writing the subjective as historical fact.

Like all these historical overviews one always learns something new. I had never heard of the Gough Map for example. But that hardly makes up for a poorish book. I am disappointed as this should have been a very useful historical overview of England from the dawns of time up to the beginning of the Tudor dynasty, one that could be recommended to the newcomer, maybe the high school reader looking for something to bolster their knowledge. Sadly for me there was far to much speculation and with that unsubstantiated comment. No footnotes. If one is to speculate and make comment back it up with footnotes. The bibliography is interesting enough, though it seems to me the author has used too many sources that are a bit too far into the past considering the plethora of specialist historians at present churning out tomes about specifics.

I will read out the entire serious and hope they improve.

I received this book through a Giveaway and I'm currently doing my best to work my way through it.

I have always been a fan of history. Learning about the lives of those who lived before us is both interested and important. That being said, I do struggle with books like this as they remind me of trudging through the assigned readings I would get in university for those classes that I thought SHOULD be great but made me want to shrivel up and die.

I love to read about how people lived their day to day lives, and perhaps I am not far enough along in this book yet, but I feel like Ackroyd spends most of his time rattling off dry facts. Is that even something I can complain about? It is a history book after all. I supposed as long as the facts are true, there isn't much you can say.

I plan to finish this book, but it isn't really something I am able to sit down and invest large amounts of time in as my eyes always end up glazing over and suddenly I've gone through 3 pages and I don't remember a thing.

It is a bit of a disappointment. I have read other books by Peter Ackroyd and I really enjoyed them. Meh, it isn't the book. It's me.

Easy to read, interesting overview of a long swath of English history, from how villages were laid out in the same areas as the Romans had lived and the Picts/Anglo Saxons before them, how churches are often in the same areas held sacred for hundreds or thousands of years, and a summary of each of the kings since William the Conqueror up to the beginning of the Tudor reign.