Latvia

A Short History

Mara Kalnins

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Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

C Hurst & Co
01 January 2026

History; European history

From northern Europe's earliest inhabitants to the search for security in the twenty-first century, Kalnins sweeps through the full story of a remarkable Baltic state.

The history of the Latvian people begins some four and a half millennia ago, with the arrival of the proto-Baltic Indo-Europeans in northern Europe. Over the following centuries of domination by successive European powers, the land's inhabitants preserved a powerful sense of identity, fostered by their ancient language, oral literature, songs and customs. These in turn informed and spurred the rise of national consciousness in the nineteenth century, and the political activities of the twentieth, which brought the modern nation-state of Latvia into being.

This book traces the genesis and growth of that nation, its endurance over centuries of conquest and oppression, the process by which it achieved its independence, and its status as a member of the European community in the twenty-first century.

By: Mara Kalnins
Imprint: C Hurst & Co
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 138mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 354g
ISBN: 9781805264439
ISBN 10: 1805264435
Pages: 270
Publication Date: 01 January 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Mara Kalnins is a life fellow of Corpus Christi College, and former reader in Modern Literature, at the University of Cambridge. Her most recent book, The Ancient Amber Routes, explores the links between the Baltic and Classical worlds. She is currently translating the ancient Latvian dainas (songs) into English.

Reviews for Latvia: A Short History

'Dr Kalnins shows, as only a scholar with her knowledge and of her repute can, the diversity and richness of Latvian history over several millenia. She is as thorough covering the craftmanship of the bronze age as she is on Latvia's recent accession into the EU, NATO and its adoption of the euro.' * Neil Taylor, author Bradt Guide to Baltic Cities *