Welcome

Authored by a team of North American university professors who specialize in the subject, Britain since 1688: A Nation in the World has been specifically written for students in the United States, or from other countries where pre-existing knowledge of the history of Britain cannot be taken for granted.

This companion website complements the book's content by providing an interactive timeline that will take you through the people, places, events and themes that comprise the history of Britain since 1688, as well as a set of documents to support the content from each of the book's chapters. Simply click on one of the tabs above to access these features.

Endorsements from scholars in the field

‘A thorough, well-written, well-structured and fully up to date survey of more than three centuries of British history. The authors are especially good at giving appropriate attention to the complex interactions between England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and also to the United Kingdom's extensive relations with the wider world. The result is the best textbook on modern Britain currently available: a global history for our globalized times.’

Sir David Cannadine, Dodge Professor of History, Princeton University

 

‘At last we have a British history textbook that meets the needs of this generation’s students. Written with clarity and vigor by a team of first-rate scholars, this work skillfully incorporates the new approaches and perspectives that have transformed our understanding of British history over the past few decades. This is a survey of Britain in its entirety, giving illuminating attention to Scotland, Ireland, and Wales as well as England, and it connects domestic developments to imperial and global ones. Britain since 1688 sets the standard against which all other textbooks in the field will have to be measured for the foreseeable future.’

Dane Kennedy, Elmer Louis Kayser Professor of History and International Affairs at George Washington University

 

‘This book takes on the formidable task of treating the history of Britain as not only the history of four nations (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales), but also as the history of the rise and fall of its vast empire during these momentous years. It succeeds admirably in bringing these many strands together into an exceptionally satisfying whole, while also dealing with issues of poverty, gender, intellectual developments, ideologies and war. It is written in a clear and lively style which will unquestionably engage the interest of its readers.’

John M. MacKenzie, Emeritus Professor of Imperial History, Lancaster University and Honorary Professorial Fellow, University of Edinburgh

 

‘This is the best single-volume history of Britain since 1688 to have appeared in years. Captivating and well-written, it deftly interweaves the social and the cultural with a political narrative that charts the making of the modern United Kingdom in its larger international and imperial context. The authors have written a new, compelling global history of Britain for our own global times.’

Chris Waters, Hans W. Gatzke '38 Professor of Modern European History, Williams College

 

‘An even-handed and lively account of Britain and its Empire since the eighteenth century, Britain since 1688: A Nation in the World reviews and informs the reader about the many elements that make up Britain's complicated modern history. Taking seriously the relations Scotland, Ireland and Wales had with dominant England, it comprehensively documents the history of a nation deeply enmeshed in a global politics and economics. Its balanced mix of political, economic, cultural, and social history will earn the appreciation of students and instructors alike.’

Philippa Levine, Mary Helen Thompson Centennial Professor in the Humanities, University of Texas at Austin