The English and their History

Robert Tombs

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English

Penguin
20 February 2024

History; British & Irish history

The first full-length history of England in one volume for many decades - now in paperback

The English first came into existence as an idea, before they had a common ruler and before the country they lived in even had a name. They have lasted as a recognizable entity ever since, and their defining national institutions can be traced back to the earliest years of their history.

Since those precarious days of invasion and conquest, with many spectacular changes of fortune, their political, economic and cultural contacts have left traces for good and ill across the world. This book describes the history of the English and its meanings, from the earliest beginnings in wetlands and monasteries to the cosmopolitan energy of today's England. Robert Tombs draws out important threads running through the story, including participatory government, language, law, religion, ever-changing relations with other peoples, and the diverse and sometimes conflicting ways the English have understood their own history.

This book, the first single-volume work on this scale for more than half a century, presents a challenging modern account, bringing out the strength and resilience of English government, the deep patterns of division, and yet also the persistent capacity to come together in the face of danger.

By: Robert Tombs
Imprint: Penguin
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 196mm, Width: 128mm, Spine: 50mm
Weight: 760g
ISBN: 9781802064230
ISBN 10: 1802064230
Pages: 1024
Publication Date: 20 February 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Robert Tombs is Emeritus Professor of French History at Cambridge, and a Fellow of St John's College. Most of his writing and teaching has been on French and European history and on Franco-British relations, for which he was awarded the Palmes Academiques by the French government. Since his foray into English history, with the publication of The English and Their History in 2014, he has become a frequent commentator on contemporary issues, and is co-editor of the pro-Brexit academic website Briefings for Britain.