Fantastic Kingdom

A Stranger's Notes on a Contrary Country

By: Helene von Bismark

'The perfect observer of a UK in crisis' JAMES HAWES, author of The Shortest History of England

Welcome to the Kingdom of Contradictions

Global yet insular, tolerant yet suspicious, proudly pragmatic yet profoundly sentimental. The United Kingdom inspires fierce loyalty and endless argument. Ten years after Brexit, it is as divided as ever.

After twenty years of studying Britain, German historian Helene von Bismarck offers an affectionate and insightful portrait of the United Kingdom as seen by an outsider. From the enduring fantasy of Britain as a self-sufficient island to the profound devotion to a global monarchy; from imperial amnesia to modern multiculturalism, she explores the paradoxes and myths that shape British identity.

Clear-eyed and witty, Fantastic Kingdom is a letter from a friend, revealing why the question of what unites the country has never mattered more than now, at a time of dramatic geopolitical change when liberal democracy is under attack. Looking backwards into history, and outwards into the global context, she closes the gap between how Britain understands itself and how it is seen abroad.©2026 Helene von Bismarck (P)2026 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic reviews

Stimulating and insightful, with a sharp observation on every page, Fantastic Kingdom is the work of a true and candid friend . . . It explains Britain to the world - and, perhaps unexpectedly, to the British themselves (Jonathan Freedland, bestselling author of The Traitors Circle)

The perfect observer of a UK in crisis (James Hawes, author of The Shortest History of England)

A bracing primer on British public life ... It is a rare pleasure to have your country anatomised with so much clarity and nuance from the outside. (Oliver Moody, author of Baltic)