Anatomy of a Nation - A History of British Identity in 50 Documents

'Incredible' The Times

'A readable and enjoyable narrative history' TLS

Delving into Britain's evolution, achievements, complexities and tensions in a ground-breaking new take on British identity, historian and barrister Dominic Selwood explores over 950,000 years of British history by examining fifty documents that tell the story of what makes Britain unique.

From Anglo-Saxon poetry, medieval folk music and the first Valentine's Day letter to the origin of computer code, Hitler's kill list of prominent Britons, the Sex Pistols' graphic art and the Brexit referendum ballot paper, Anatomy of a Nation reveals a Britain we have never seen before. People are at the heart of the story: a female charioteer queen from Wetwang, a plague surviving graffiti artist, a drunken Bible translator, outlandish Restoration rakehells, canting criminals, the eccentric fathers of modern typography and the bankers who caused the finance crisis.

Selwood vividly blends human stories with the selected fifty documents to bring out the startling variety and complexity of Britain's achievements and failures in a fresh and incisive insight into the British psyche. This is history the way it is supposed to be told: a captivating and entertaining account of the people that built Britain.,

About the author

Dominic Selwood is a historian and barrister. He is a bestselling author and novelist, and frequent contributor to national newspapers, radio and television. He has a doctorate in history from the University of Oxford and a masters from the Sorbonne. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Society of Antiquaries. He lives in London.

Twitter: @DominicSelwood

Additional text

The range and rich diversity of material are the chief strength of this book . . . a readable and enjoyable narrative history

Product details

• Authors: DOMINIC SELWOOD, Dominic Selwood, Selwood Dominic
• Publisher: Constable
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 01.09.2022
• EAN: 9781472131904
• ISBN: 978-1-4721-3190-4
• No. of pages: 672
• Dimensions: 126 mm x 196 mm x 44 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, ART / History / General, Social & cultural history, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / 20th Century, British & Irish history, History: earliest times to present day, Local History, Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500, Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700, 1903–1968 (the Panamanian republican period), HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General