Stuart Britain: A Very Short Introduction by John Morrill

Stuart Britain: A Very Short Introduction
by John Morrill

Sometimes I'll go out and grab a short synthesist study just to get caught up with recent research. Then again this thing is from 2000 so maybe so not much with the whole up to date thing. In any event as the title suggests it covers the Stuart control of Britain and the Civil War.

It's mostly done in sections based on the Monarch at the time. Leading off with a Section that covers economics and demographics. Which in many respects was the most interesting part of the book. The discussion of the slowdown in population growth and stresses that put on the economy.

Perhaps surprisingly for a book written at the beginning of the 21st century mostly holds onto the big man view of history. As far as discussion of social movements go it's pretty much limited to the religious controversies that popped up. More space is given over to the monarchs and their leadership styles.

Coverage of the Civil War is brief but brings up a few points that I hadn't considered. The fighting was limited geographically. That many areas pretty much stayed neutral even if they officially endorsed one side or the other.

Is typical for these volumes there's a further reading section of a couple of pages.

Recommended though it's probably out of date.

Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy by Paul Thomas Murphy

Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy
by Paul Thomas Murphy


 This book covers the eight different attempts by seven individuals to assassinate Queen Victoria. It alternates sections between what the queen was doing at the time and her various assassins. All of the attempts except for one involved pistols of varying quality and a majority were found not criminally liable due to insanity. More than just a history of the attempts the book also covers treatment and legal changes that took place during the 19 century. There's also a good dose of general British history as well as analysis how each attempt help shape the modern monarchy.

The style is more on the popular history side as opposed to academic. He does tend to go into mind reading mode at times which normally I find irritating but there is a charm about the text which meant I was less annoyed and I usually would be. The meandering narrative reminds me of Jan Morris books which is perhaps why I'm giving a pass here. Political motivation appears to have been lacking with all of the attempts which is perhaps why in all my other meetings on Victorian history I've only come across one of the attempts. At this stage it's where for me to find a new set of historical events so that was good.

Recommended.

The Great Escape and Revisionist Drivel

So according to this article the Great Escape was militarily reckless and shouldn't have been attempted. I realize he's trying to sell his book controversy being what it is. However the argument on its face value is ridiculous.

Setting aside the obvious that the first duty of prisoners of war is to try to escape the idea of well the war was going to be over so just stay there doesn't pass the smell test. Even if it did when exactly would this sort of logic "be acceptable"? After 1943 or maybe 1942 after the Americans entered?

And don't come back...

Weymouth ridgeway skeletons 'Scandinavian Vikings'. 

Tudor Knight by Christopher Gravett

Tudor Knight by Christopher Gravett this covers the weapons, tactics and cultural background of knights in the 1500s in England. Typical for titles from this publisher there are lots of pictures and illustrations. Strikes me that they had some trouble getting the right length. There's info on changes in military recruitment and deployment as well as the usual stuff on tournaments and campaigns. There is a bibliography and glossary of terms.

Recommended.

Gunpowder: The Players Behind the Plot by James Travers

Gunpowder: The Players Behind the Plot by James Travers the rear jacket copy makes it sound like this book includes an investigation of the primary sources contained on the plotters who attempted to blow up parliament. Unfortunately documents are mentioned but are only sparingly quoted from. What we get instead is a rather disjointed discussion of the investigation of the plot. This is only for the expert there are more assumptions here then fax.

Not recommended.

The Normans by David Nicolle

The Normans by David Nicolle tries to give a general history of this culture in the British isles, France, Italy and the Middle East. Unfortunately the osprey format is too short to do this well. What we get instead is a dizzying list of names and places with very little information. If you're already an expert on this time you'll be able to follow this but that doesn't make much sense considering the audience the publications are aimed at.

Not recommended.

No massacre investigation

I read about this when I was doing my research for my MA. It's unfortunate that there won't be anything official. UK 'rejects' Malaya deaths appeal.

Stephen and Matilda: The Civil War of 1139-1153 by Jim Bradbury

Stephen and Matilda: The Civil War of 1139-1153 by Jim Bradbury a clear and well written military/political history on this mediaeval English war. Explains in detail how King Stephen managed to win the war but lose the peace. There's quite a bit here on 12th century warfare, tactics and fortifications. The book is oversized and on every page there's a picture or illustration. There's also info on visiting the sites today.

Highly recommended.

Roman Forts in Britain by David J. Breeze

Roman Forts in Britain by David J. Breeze short highly illustrated book on well what the title says. Nice amount of information crammed into 64 pages. Explanations are concise. He's willing to admit where there's no information. If you're interested in the topic a must have.

Highly recommended.

Delusion: The True Story of Victorian Superspy Henri Le Caron by Peter Edwards

Delusion: The True Story of Victorian Superspy Henri Le Caron by Peter Edwards is a biography of the British spy that provided intelligence on the Fenians and other Irish terrorist groups. He gave material both to the Canadian government and British. This allowed the foiling of various terrorist plots as well as two invasions of Canada from the United States. The book also gets into a nice amount of detail about Irish politics in the middle years of the 19th century. Edwards manages to avoid the traps of popular history [i.e. dramatization]. He's done quite a bit of research and it shows in an extensive notes and a bibliography section. For anyone who's interested in an early terrorist groups, Irish, British, Canadian or American history.

Highly recommended!

Note: this book was provided through Mini Book Expo.

The First Four Georges by John Harold Plumb

The First Four Georges by John Harold Plumb biographical sketches of the first four British kings to have the name George. Through their lives we learn quite a bit about British social and political history in the 18th and early 19th century. All four had various foibles which are described in loving detail. The last two get the most coverage. The loss of the American colonies by George III and the occasional insanity of George IV. This was originally published in the 1950s so it has many of the flourishes of nonfiction writing, from those days.

Recommended.

Winston Churchill- Soldier: The Military Life of a Gentleman at War by Douglas Russell

Winston Churchill- Soldier: The Military Life of a Gentleman at War by Douglas Russell = is a biography that deals with Churchill's training and military campaigns. Russell earlier wrote a book on the various awards and decorations Churchill received. I quite enjoyed the book.

The book starts with Churchill's childhood. He showed an interest in the military relatively early on. Both with toy soldiers and the adventure stories of the day. There's coverage of his experiences in the five conflicts he took part in. They were in India, Sudan, Cuba [as a journalist], Second Boer war [as journalist and soldier] and First World War. His time in the reserves comes up.

Lots of research is in this book. At this point I'm a relative expert on the Sudan campaign but there is some new material here that I was unaware of. I do have to wonder about the audience for this book. Occasionally introductory material is given on such things as the British Empire. However knowledge of Churchill's life is assumed. Several references are made to his girlfriend throughout the Boer war section the next we here he's married to someone else. There are some mistakes like saying that the Suez Canal was controlled by a British company, it was actually French. There are attempts to defend Churchill from various criticisms in the text. Russell is evidently a Churchill partisan. That being said this is an important part of a Churchill bookshelf.

Highly recommended!

War on the Nile: Britain, Egypt and the Sudan 1882-1898 by Michael Barthorp

War on the Nile: Britain, Egypt and the Sudan 1882-1898 by Michael Barthorp is a popular history of this Victorian military campaign. Think an overgrown osprey without the computer-generated maps. The book describes the various operations with emphasis on the original seizure of Egypt by the British. I was actually quite happy that this was covered in depth. It seems to have fallen through the cracks as far as secondary sources go. Gordon's involvement and his death make up the second section of the book. Naturally the third is the re-conquering by Kitchener.

Those who have been reading this blog for the last few months know that I've read quite a bit on the Sudan campaign. So I didn't necessarily learn anything new from this book although it did help straighten out one or two questions I had. I can say that this would make an excellent introduction. Their are illustrations or pictures on just about every page and suggestions for further reading.

Recommended!

The British Empire 1558-1995 by T.O. Lloyd

The British Empire 1558-1995 by T.O. Lloyd is a highly readable extensively researched history of the British Empire. This is from a larger series on world history topics (Short Oxford History of the Modern World). It is presumably aimed towards the college market.

The narrative tries to weave together the various parts of the empire as well as provide a wider perspective on the political entity as a whole. This is basically political and economic history with the occasional social or military comment thrown in. Considering the length of time covered it's always a risk that the reader will be bombarded with a list of names and dates without much context but this is not the case in this. I actually learned quite a bit. The book concludes with a bibliographic essay that occasionally gives snarky comments about further reading.

Highly recommended!

Mr. Kipling's Army by Byron Farwell

Mr. Kipling's Army by Byron Farwell is a picturesque look at the British Army of the 19th century. The book is divided into thematic chapters including regiments, recruitment, religion, training, tactics, sport, women and alcohol. Farwell one of the preeminent historians on the Victorian Army gives numerous examples dealing with each topic.

This is a truly masterful work that if you have any interest at all in the British Army you must have. Farwell also had a gift for writing as well. This could quite easily have been a dry recitation of statistics and regulations. Fortunately it's not. As the title suggests there are occasional references to Kipling's writings, both short stories and poems.

Highly recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.

Dervish: The Rise and Fall of an African Empire by Philip Warner

Dervish: The Rise and Fall of an African Empire by Philip Warner is a history of the independent Sudan during the late 19th century. There is a decent enough discussion on the Islamic movement that swept through the country and led to it breaking away from Egyptian control. There is quite a bit here on its relations with the British government including the murder of Gordon and the eventual reconquering for the Egyptians by the British.

The narrative was alright. I was expecting a little more color. Some of the comparisons with the British Army of the second world war and 1950s were interesting. I have several of Warner's books on British battlefields. They have been reviewed on the blog. I preferred those to this.

Mildly recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.

Omdurman, 1898:The Eyewitnesses Speak edited by Frederic Sharf and Peter Harrington

Omdurman, 1898:The Eyewitnesses Speak: The British Conquest of the Sudan as Described by Participants in Letters, Diaries, Photos, and Drawings edited by Frederic Sharf and Peter Harrington that's one long title. It also gives an excellent summary of just what it is we are dealing with here.

This book grew out of an exhibition of art on the campaign. The editors thought that a collection of sources would be useful. All of the accounts are from officers. Strangely they say the descriptions written by non-officers have been collected somewhere else but don't actually say where. If anyone knows let me know in comments. There are also dispatches from newspaper reporters. These seem a little out of place although they are nice to have.

Most of the major phases of the campaign are dealt with including the lead up to the battle, the battle itself and the aftermath. Each selection is prefaced by a biographical note about the author. Several come from archival sources that would be impossible to find anywhere else. If you are interested in this campaign this is a must-have.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

Omdurman by Peter Ziegler

Omdurman by Peter Ziegler is a history of the Victorian British military campaign that reconquered the Sudan. Ziegler is writing a popular history of the battle. Much of the material he provides is colorful. For instance the various nicknames that the officers had. There is a pretty good description of the battle itself. He's using a lot of the available sources including some from the Dervish perspective. A readable history on this important colonial campaign.

Highly recommend!

Is available through Abebooks.

Omdurman 1898: Kitchener's victory in the Sudan (Campaign) by Donald Featherstone

Omdurman 1898: Kitchener's victory in the Sudan by Donald Featherstone is part of the numerous campaign series from Osprey. The standard flourishes are here. Pictures, drawings and maps on every page.

After the Dervishes killed General Gordon in Khartoum in 1895. The British launched an expedition to destroy the Sudanese. This was with a combined British and Egyptian army. After several minor engagements along the line of march down the Nile Kitchener's force was attacked outside of Omdurman the capital. The British/Egyptian force managed to destroy the Dervishes, they repulsed several suicide attacks. The battle is also famous for the charge of the 21st Lancers one of their Lieutenants being Winston Churchill.

The writing in most Ospreys if not particularly good is at least serviceable. Unfortunately, this is not the case in this book. Featherstone feels the need to cram in as much data as possible into each sentence. There is a wealth of technical data here about weapons and uniforms but it's presented in such a way that is rather hard to get into.

Recommended but don't pay list price.

Is available through Abebooks.