The Isles: A History

Written by one of the most brilliant and provocative historians at work today, The Isles is a revolutionary narrative history that presents a new perspective on the development of Britain and Ireland, looking at them not as self-contained islands, but as an inextricable part of Europe.
This richly layered history begins with the Celtic Supremacy in the last centuries BC, which is presented in the light of a Celtic world stretching all the way from Iberia to Asia Minor. Roman Britain is seen not as a unique phenomenon but as similar to the other frontier regions of the Roman Empire. The Viking Age is viewed not only through the eyes of the invaded but from the standpoint of the invaders themselves--Norse, Danes, and Normans. In the later chapters, Davies follows the growth of the United Kingdom and charts the rise and fall of the main pillars of 'Britishness'--the Royal Navy, the Westminster Parliament, the Constitutional Monarchy, the Aristocracy, the British Empire, and the English Language.
This holistic approach challenges the traditional nationalist picture of a thousand years of "eternal England"--a unique country formed at an early date by Anglo-Saxon kings which evolved in isolation and, except for the Norman Conquest, was only marginally affected by continental affairs. The result is a new picture of the Isles, one of four countries--England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales--constantly buffeted by continental storms and repeatedly transformed by them.

“"Until now, there has never been a full-length history book covering all the kingdoms, principalities, and miscellaneous state formations of the British Isles....Then along came Norman Davies, fresh from the triumph of his blockbuster, Europe: A History. He was used to Thinking Big and had allthe necessary qualities: energy, intellectual acumen and sheer chutzpah....The result is a book which really will change the way we think about our past....A marvellously rich and stimulating book."--Noel Malcolm, The Standard”

"[Davies] invests The Isles...with energy and enthusiasm."--The New York Times

"For all its length, it miraculously retains the pace and exhilaration of an iconoclastic essay."--The Economist

"The book succeeds, boisterous in its sheer variety."--The Wall Street Journal

"An audacious project, touching and reckless, enormously stimulating and hugely necessary."--Washington Post Book World

"Brilliant...Davies's fast-paced narrative and reassessments are executed with such brio that putting the book down...is almost impossible."--The Boston Sunday Globe

"Any reader eager to challenge the enduring prejudices and bigotry that have dominated the history of the Isles for so long will find his myth-busting views both engaging and enlightening."--The Christian Science Monitor

"Excellently organized and...well written."--The Boston Book Review

"Davies has written a wondrous, landmark chronicle of the British Isles...Bursting with fresh insights on nearly every page, this magisterial narrative, scholarly yet down-to-earth and engrossing, reveals Davies at his iconoclastic best."--Publishers Weekly (boxed review)

"A key book for its time...Moved by corrective passion and insatiable curiosity...Seizes the conventional wisdom of the moment, and destroys most of its foundations."--London Review of Books

Norman Davies is the author of Europe: A History. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of London, Supernumerary Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, and a Fellow of the British Academy.

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