The Story of Britain

From the Romans to the Present: A Narrative History

By: Rebecca Fraser

Narrated by: Esther Wane

"A reference book that will see every history student through school and university." (Lucy Moore, New Statesman)

Despite suffering at the hands of invading Romans, Anglo-Saxons, and Normans, and tyrannical kings and queens, Britons have been renowned since Queen Boudicca for their fierce commitment to the liberty of the individual. Britain's 700-year-old parliamentary democracy has developed from a passion for fairness and the rule of law. In an atmospheric and vivid narrative, Rebecca Fraser takes listeners through key events in the nation's history, from Alfred and the Danes to the Norman Conquest, from Magna Carta to the founding of English America, from the Industrial Revolution and the empire to the Commonwealth today. The listener is introduced to the lives of the far-sighted statesmen and women, heroes and villains, scientists, soldiers, and great explorers, whose ideas have informed the colorful tapestry which is the story of Britain.

©2003 Rebecca Fraser (P)2021 Tantor

Love the content hate the voice.

Profoundly educational but the voice actresses voice is irritating, breathy, and high pitched in bad way. It made for intolerable listening experiencing. I am forcing myself to get through this so I can get the information but I can tell this is going to be hell.

Highly dense historical material.

Amazing amount of info packed into this story that I thought was too long to tell by a single person.

Excellent and balanced history

Rebecca Fraser did a great job at conveying the contradictory history of Britain in a way that felt modern, but kept the perspectives from the time in considering the history that shaped modern Britain.

Fantastic overview of English history

This was a fantastic overview. I felt like some of the stories had to be filtered from a somewhat partisan view of history. I am definitely going to look at other sources for a more in depth history to understand better. But this is a great starting point and a good overall history book.