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

encompassing

If not for the antidotes and footnotes this book would of been dry as toast! Spanning 60 years, Ms Morris has set herself a giant task to explain the British Empire during Queen Victoria's rule. I believe Ms Morris has done a good job. Roy McMillan is outstanding. This is not a book I feel compelled to recommend because of its length and subject matter, but if the basic description makes the book sound interesting then it probably is a fit for you.

A little outdated now, but enjoyable nonetheless

If you could sum up Heaven's Command in three words, what would they be?

Witty, knowledgable, dated

What did you like best about this story?

The way Jan Morris manages to thematically describe the British Empire without it seeming as if she has shoe-horned events to fit her thesis, that the Empire changed, in purpose and intent, during the long reign of Victoria.

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

He reads well. I quibble with some of the pronunciation (''Métis" is pronounced 'may-tee', not 'metiss'), but he does well with the text, including the copious footnotes.

Any additional comments?

The book was written in the 60s and early 70s, and the attitudes and language used perhaps reflects that, but Jan Morris was and is an expert writer, and her wit and wisdom make the occasional unreconstructed imperialist tone forgivable

She Never Tells You What to Think...

... But she does a fine job of telling you what they thought.

This history of the British Empire is especially strong on the motivations for empire, from ridding the world of slavery (honorable enough) to spreading the word of God (not everyone shared this impulse, of course) to making money to escaping class to eventually simply defending what the forebears had built.

And Morris' language is so lovely! I want to listen to the whole thing again, just to hear some of those stunning sentences once more.

Review for all three in the series

If you like history, complete with poetry and context, you will love this series! Jan Morris visited most of the locations he writes about and since that was in the '50's and '60's, we have a very interesting half way view to "what has happened" since. Halfway through, I started following the action on Google Earth, what a perspective! Some of these islands are so remote, I can't believe anyone knew about them, yet here they are with capitals like Victoria and Salisbury. I feel like I have been on a trip around the world in 50 hours. If Mr. Morris had written our history books, I may have paid more attention in HS. The author shows the Empire from all sides that represent themselves in the English attitudes of the day. Last but not least, Roy Mcmillan reads like a movie, voices of Kipling, Shaw, and Gandhi just to name a very few are as true as the cockney of the sailor and accent of the bartender down under. Truly this is one of the very best "stories/histories/audiobooks" I have ever listened to (I am getting close the my first 100). I hope you get it and enjoy it as much as I did. PS, the author does the forward, his voice is much less compelling than the reader, so do not be put off by the introduction as his voice is stilted and slightly muffled compared to Mr. McMillan's. Please enjoy.

Great Vignettes, Good Overall Story

When I reached the end of this volume, I thought, "Is that it? I don't feel like I saw the empire actually arrive." It almost crept up on me. Sure, there were battles and conquests, but there didn't seem to be any grand advances of empire. Perhaps this was the point: the growth was organic, steady, and inexorable. Also, the fact that the book's end arrived before I could believe must mean that it was engaging. The short biographies of the individual empire builders were fantastic. (The footnotes were my favorite part.)
I also liked the emphasis on three themes throughout: 1) the effect of the abolished slave trade and slaveholdings, 2) the evangelical and humanitarian motives of empire, and 3) the reluctance through most of Victoria's reign by most Englishmen to even pursue empire.
You will enjoy this book if you want to learn about the growth of the British Empire under Victoria.

Imperial Ascent

When Victoria took the throne, the seeds of empire were already sown, and yet the very concept was considered anathema by the people of Britain. So what happened to change that? This was the question for which I wanted the answer, which led me to this book. And oh boy does it answer it.

My favorite history books are those that don't dwell on names and dates. I need stories, people, cause and effect, motivations... the very things that puts the human element back into the histories. This book does exactly that, and as it does rely on anecdotal elements as much as it does on anything else, there are times when this book reads like a high adventure story. And really, isn't that part of what drew the manliest men of the British Empire to the cause in the first place? That's certainly the impression most people have, and it's partially true. But author Jan Morris digs much deeper and makes the transition of the nation's views seem almost natural and perhaps even inevitable in a weird sort of way. To discover the truths of Imperialism is to discover the darker truths of mankind. For some, it's an excuse for unabashed evil, for others it's very much the "road to hell paved by good intentions." Having seen this sort of thing in the rise of so many powerful countries, throughout history, it's easy to point to things in the aftermath and make sweeping statements about what's good or evil. A book like this makes the reader understand that it's rarely so simple, even when the players involved thought it was at the time. It's so simple, it's complex, and yet the writer slides us through it all with the ease of an experienced tour guide.

I'm looking forward to books 2 and 3 of this series, though I have to admit to needing a brief diversion between volumes due to the density of the material. This book packs a punch, and it takes a while to decompress what you're given. It's a worthy read in that it packs so much in one volume without dumbing it down. In short, my kind of history book. Well worth the credit. If the other 2 volumes are on par, then it'll be well worth the 3 credits for the series as a whole.

Roy McMillan is a quality narrator, so I'm pleased that he's along for the rest of the series. His manner is engaging so as to keep you involved the whole way through.

The rich, impeccable writing

of Jan Morris continues to captivate. The narration is on par with the best and the story of British imperialism in India, Africa, and elsewhere – even when tragic – continues to captivate. This is history at its best. Neither fatuous nor condescending, Morris delivers the story with Walter Cronkite dignity, nicely leavened by an incisive wit particularly evident in his delightful footnotes. The news rendered without ignoring or abusing the far seeing panorama of hindsight. Excellent!

Boy, does he tell a good story!

i say “he” because it was James Morris who wrote the book.

Here’s why it’s so good:

Morris writes like an angel.

He manages to balance his sympathies between the British and their subjects, without unduly taking sides.

The narrative jumps from one far-flung exotic locale to another, from one colorful (or sometimes appalling) incident to another, from one notable figure to another, so that the listener never grows bored.

McMillan makes the perfect reader.

Wait!!! Where is Queen Victoria???

I expected to read about Queen Victoria....what I got was a long, dry and amazingly detailed account of each and every battle during her reign. Her name might have been mentioned three times.

I gave up - at Chapter 25, it became clear that the Queen was not the focus of the book. Lesson learned...never EVER judge a book by its cover!!!

Expensive lesson.

Boring

I was quickly bored of this book, for some it may be enjoyable, but for me not so.