Heaven's Command

An Imperial Progress - Pax Britannica, Volume 1

By: Jan Morris

Narrated by: Roy McMillan

Length: 20 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

The Pax Britannica trilogy is Jan Morris’s epic story of the British Empire from the accession of Queen Victoria to the death of Winston Churchill. It is a towering achievement: informative, accessible, entertaining and written with all her usual bravura. Heaven’s Command, the first volume, takes us from the crowning of Queen Victoria in 1837 to the Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The story moves effortlessly across the world, from the English shores to Fiji, Zululand, the Canadian prairies and beyond. Totally gripping history!

Listen to Pax Britannica: The Climax of an Empire - Pax Britannica, Volume 2.;Download the accompanying reference guide.

©1973 A P Watt Limited (P)2011 Naxos AudioBooks

A trilogy filled with history, wit and information

Being an Englishman by birth the Empire was in my blood. My greatAunt's brother in law was something big in the Indian Raj, my GreatUncle mapped the Red Sea, my Grandfathers both fought in it and my parents mourned its passing as though it were a personal loss to the family.

These three books were filled with fabulous information about all the possessions that made up the empire but particularly about India. I found it all totally fascinating. It was often unbelievable stuff, a country tamed by a courageous individual, daring dos by heros straight out of comic books (or an asylum!) or battles won at tremendous cost either to the English or the natives.

There was great humour and terrible sadness and all read by Roy McMillan who did a superlative job at narrating it with perfect accents for all the different quotes by great statesmen or colonialists or dominion politicians. Kipling got a good look in as did Churchill and Jan Morris marked the end of the Empire by Churchill's death - he was the last of the true imperialists. Jan Morris visited many of the countries he wrote about and it came across as a personal view of the Empire which made it all the more vivid.

I loved these books and can not but recommend them most enthusiastically for all history buffs. I know that I will be back to listen to it all again at some stage and as it is some 80 hrs long you don't do that unless you really really enjoyed it!

Excellent Reading of a Book that Makes the Empire Come Alive

The Pax Britannia trilogy is great reading for anyone who wants to understand the British Empire, not just to condemn (or to celebrate) it. Morris works from the assumption that the empire was made by, and made up of, people who, wise or foolish, good or bad, acted for understandable reasons. The people he describes are memorable—funny, tragic, inspiring, repulsive. Any student of the histories and literatures of nations that were and are influenced by the British Empire will find Morris’s book illuminating and entertaining. And in Roy McMillan, Morris’s distinctive literary voice find the ideal aural embodiment.

wonderful history book

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. It gave a good overview of the beginning of the British Empire. I especially enjoyed the section on Sir Richard Burton & John Speke's search for the source of the Nike & Stanley's search for Dr Livingston. I also enjoyed the history of the Transvaal. The amazing story of Elphinstone's British army being massacured outside Kabul. Civilazations that don't know history are condemned to repeat it.

Wonderful!

Any additional comments?

This book is remarkable. The author paints the history of empire in vivid color and with beautiful style. Although the sheer breadth of the subject means this book is not your best option for in-depth analysis of imperial history, major events and characters are given a masterful and unfailingly interest treatment, and listening to this book was an absolutely delight!

Masterpiece!

Jan Morris' Pax Britannica is an amazing undertaking. This book 1, Heaven's Command will bring history to life for you as it did me. Jan is unapologetically patriotic which is a refreshing perspective these days. Roy McMillan is one of those narrators that are so talented and enjoyable I'm willing to buy anything he narrates even when I already own several copies of the books! I highly recommend this specific version of Heaven's Command instead of the other for sale that is only 7hrs, this long version perfectly follows the books!

Fantastic!

The only reason for the 4star rating is the use of footnotes when really the footnote could have been incorporated into the body of the work, making for a smoother reading and a way less irritating for the listener. Roy McMillan does an outstanding job narrating, giving feeling to a vast amount of peoples,
world locations and moods of the moment. I’m amazed he didn’t go crazy with the hundreds of times he had to inject the word “ footnote...I almost did!
Jan Morris is a wonder. What could have been a dry historical recitation has been written to engage and enlighten the reader. Hard subjects are faced and given the balanced outlook they deserve. I appreciated the author’s statement of personal bias in the introduction because I believe this is what gives this book the room of expression that makes it so interesting. I look forward to the net two books, though not the “footnote” 🤪

Know what you are getting into..

This is not an accessible book for Americans (at least after the first couple chapters). There are too many descriptions of architecture in far flung parts of the British empire and lots of references to notable families and people (most of whom I have never heard of).

That being said, many chapters provide compelling overviews of the British empire or exciting stories of sieges and wars. And all the chapters are very well written and the narrator is excellent.

Anecdotal history

This has become one of my favorite history series. Very entertaining, even after many listens. Even the footnotes are fun. Highly recommended.

Very good history - sometimes too British

I very much enjoyed this book although at times a few of the obscure references were a bit hard even for an Anglophile.

A fun and interestingly detailed listen

What did you love best about Heaven's Command?

This is one fact-filled tome!

What did you like best about this story?

The author's writing vividly brings to life the many worlds conveyed within.

What does Roy McMillan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A clear and connected reading, with a wonderful cadence.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Some of the unfortunate atrocities committed both against and by the British were moving, but ultimately the story is so well balanced that one may recall just as easily the favorable expedition of gentlemen adventurers in pursuit of the source of the Nile, or a war that almost began over a dead pig but thankfully fizzled out with British and American officers enjoying one another's company on a remote, 10 mile long island instead of fighting one another.

Any additional comments?

Great for those seriously interested in history.