• English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable

  • By: Lacey Baldwin Smith
  • Narrated by: Peter Noble
  • Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (2,391 ratings)

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English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable

By: Lacey Baldwin Smith
Narrated by: Peter Noble
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Publisher's summary

Here at last is a history of England that is designed to entertain as well as inform and that will delight the armchair traveler, the tourist, or just about anyone interested in history.

No people have engendered quite so much acclaim or earned so much censure as the English: extolled as the Athenians of modern times, yet hammered for their self-satisfaction and hypocrisy. But their history has been a spectacular one.

The guiding principle of this book's heretical approach is that "history is not everything that happened but what is worth remembering about the past". Thus its chapters deal mainly with "Memorable History" in blocks of time over the centuries. The final chapter, "The Royal Soap Opera", recounts the achievements, personalities, and idiocies of the royal family since the arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066. English History will be a welcome and amusing tour of a land that has always fascinated Anglophiles and Anglophobes alike.

©2007 Lacey Baldwin Smith (P)2017 Audible, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable

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    4 out of 5 stars

Easy and fun ...

Very consumable and, as titled, pleasurable. There are lots of interesting tidbits that I had never come across before too.

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1 person found this helpful

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well done

There is a lot in this book. Sometimes I got lost, but only because of my lack of British history.
This is a "heavy" fun read.

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1 person found this helpful

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WOW! exactly what the title says!

A must read for anglophiles, history bluffs & royal watches! I definitely recommend this book!

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Funny and Interesting

Fantastic book! Exactly what's on the tin. However an update would do this book wonders. Totally worth a listen, though.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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English History is Dry

The author makes it incredibly interesting to listen to. I enjoyed it. Great job bud!

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the Book Title speaks the truth!

I am a history nerd and this has been a delightful read! The narrator's droll voice and immensely specific spacing of words and phrases left me gasping in giggles on more than one occasion. I'm about to listen to it a second time just for the joy of snickering.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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British history summarized well!

I like the narrator, who has a lot of history to condense in a few hours. Great read!
Author is spot on with facts and I have reread several times.

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Wonderful!

I loved this book. Nicely read. it gives the highlights of every period of English history in a most entertaining way. It will also be enjoyable to listen to again and again.

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6 people found this helpful

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enjoyable funny and objective

i throughly enjoyed listening English History. Author clearly has a command of every detail and its impact on greater things. i learned a great deal about English history but I took great personal lessons from the success a d failures and causes and effects of kings and queens. wonderfully written book i highly recommend anyone any age

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2 people found this helpful

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  • JK
  • 09-07-18

Worth listening to!!

I love history. Am very familiar with the history of Great Britain. In order to fully enjoy this book and follow it, I recommend that you are familiar with history. I absolutely recommend this book. The narrator was excellent.

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