Foundation: The History of England from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors: The History of England, Book 1

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(as of Jan 08, 2025 20:42:51 UTC – Details)

In this massive best seller in England, one of Britain’s most popular and esteemed historians tells the epic story of the birth of the country.

Peter Ackroyd, whose work has always been underpinned by a profound interest in and understanding of England’s history, now tells the epic story of England itself.

In Foundation the chronicler of London and of its river, the Thames, takes us from the primeval forests of England’s prehistory to the death of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, in 1509. He guides us from the building of Stonehenge to the founding of the two great glories of medieval England: common law and the cathedrals. He shows us glimpses of the country’s most distant past – a Neolithic stirrup found in a grave, a Roman fort, a Saxon tomb, a medieval manor house – and describes in rich prose the successive waves of invaders who made England English despite being themselves Roman, Viking, Saxon, or Norman French.

With his extraordinary skill for evoking time and place and his acute eye for the telling detail, Ackroyd recounts the story of warring kings, civil strife, and foreign wars. But he also gives us a vivid sense of how England’s early people lived: the homes they built, the clothes they wore, the food they ate, even the jokes they told. All are brought vividly to life through the narrative mastery of one of Britain’s finest writers.

Reviewer: weebiscuit
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: What I most enjoyed about this book was the reading style
Review: I wish I were eloquent enough to adequately praise this book, but I’m not so I’ll have to stumble through its attributes in my own prosaic way.First off, the beginning of the book bogged down a bit for me, as it went far back into the Stone Age. It was interesting, but that period of history is not wholly in my realm of interest, as so much of that history is speculation as there were no written records of any kind. Once I got through that and began reading about the earliest “recorded” history of England, I was hooked.What I most enjoyed about this book was the reading style. It was not academically-slanted, but it truly seemed to be aimed at the general populace. I remember so many college history classes in which battles were laboriously described. The worst ones were the battles that went on for weeks, as then we’d have to read of how each army was lined up, where their flanks were arranged, who rode in first, where the first man fell, day after day, etc. That stuff is not what intrigues me. I prefer reading about the life of the people… not the battles of its armies. Ackroyd had a lot of battles to cover, as any history of a nation is really built upon battles and land seizures and cessions, but Ackroyd mercifully handled them in a nutshell…. sort of like “9,000 men met 6,000 men… they came, they saw, they conquered.” Or, they lost. So, we knew who the major players were in these confrontations, and where they took place, but we were spared the minutia of every detail.As Ackroyd progresses through the centuries, he not only adequately describes each new monarch and his court, but he also brings in collateral English history. For example, he talked about drastic climate changes as they occurred in the first 5 centuries BC and also during the 11th and 12th centuries AD and how these changes affected not only the economy of England, but it’s people as well, and how times of exceptionally poor harvests raised the body count and ushered in epidemic diseases and crime rates.Reading this book has confirmed by previous opinion that the entire history of Man is simply one of seizure and abuse. Throughout all history, and quite evident between these pages, 99% of the people in this world have been considered expendable and simply a means to an end by the 1% ruling elite. Whether that ruling elite was simply an early man who gathered others about him to pillage a near-by village, kill its inhabitants and take over the land in order to increase his own holdings and stature, or the leaders of today’s nations who ignore their poor and hungry because all that matters is their self-aggrandizement and personal luxury, mankind’s entire history has been formed by one group warring against another in order to satisfy some personal lust.To summarize this book, I would say that it is an easy-to read tome, full of information not only about the kinds of England, but also about some of the daily life. What toys children had, what games men played, what foods they ate, what jokes they played on each other, and so much more. It’s not a “dry” history. But history is certainly covered! After reading it I felt that the entire system of “monarchy” in England was (and is), simply a crock. These rulers simply never cared about the welfare of anyone other than themselves. They wanted power, riches, fame. They considered the unlanded serfs and slaves so beneath their dignity as to not be worthy of a thought. These kings felt they “deserved” to rule by some incredible gift of divine right. They murdered, they connived, they deprived anyone at all of their land and welfare in order to promote their own personal sense of worth. Honestly, after finishing the book, it simply boggled my mind that the English put up with it at all, much less to the present!If you like history but don’t want an academic book that might be required reading on your way to becoming a PhD in history, then you’ll love this book. If you’ve heard of the Plague, the houses of York and Lancaster, the Hundred Years War, the War of the Roses, the Plantagenets, the Hanoverians, Angevins, Normandy, or the Tudors, then you’ll find those topics adequately covered. I am looking forward to reading the further volumes in this series!

Reviewer: Michael Lapelosa
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Engrossing – Excellent Prose
Review: This book is massive in scope and is the first book in the series of the author’s history of England. This volume, “Foundation”, deals with England’s prehistory to the death,of the first Tudor king, Henry VII. The superb narrative includes the building of Stonehenge, the emergence of common law and the building of cathedrals. The author explains the rich history of England, focusing on the cultural contributions that were made by the multitude of invaders; Roman, Viking, Saxon, and Norman French. However, the author’s textured prose not only paints a picture of warring kings, of civil strife, and foreign wars, he also presents the reader with a fascinating look at how people lived; the homes, the clothes, the food, even the popular jokes. This depiction of daily life gives the reader vivid context and perspective that I have not found in other books. One theme that re-occured throughout the book was the continuous struggle between Parliament and the Monarchy, most often over the issue of money and taxes!The author weaves a history that reads like a novel, capturing the reader’s interest and attention, resulting in a informative, educational and entertaining experiance!!The only issue I have is that the Kindle edition I read subtracted the pictures and maps, which would have greatly enhanced the excellent narrative.

Reviewer: Paul
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: And The First Shall Be Last
Review: I did not intend to read these three volumes in reverse order, but when I finished the book on the Glorious Revolution, I went to the book on the Tudors, and you can see where I ended up. In a little more than 400 pages, Ackroyd takes us through the earliest beginnings of England, the 13 kings of the Plantagenet dynasty, through Richard II and III and ends us with HenryVII, which sets up his next work on the Tudors.I enjoyed the book, the author’s writing style, and the way he was able to keep it all flowing without losing my interest. Having read other works on English history and now this three book set, I have a much better understanding of a slow and often painful process that developed into England as we know it.Every king was unique and some much more effective than others, but the essence of this period is that kings wanted to make war to prove their strength, they had to deal with lords who were jealous of their power and wealth, marriages were arranged with the hope of creating new alliances, a male heir was imperative, the church was very powerful and death by plague and sundry disease lingered around every corner. And, through a period of about 250 years, you see King John sign the Magna Carta, Parliaments which did not sit in regular sessions never the less began to deal with law and legislation, and customs began to be established many of which were the ground of common law as known today.There is criticism of the book because of the total lack of a bibliography and extensive notes to cover everything imaginable. I dismiss these aspersions. This book is written to provide the general reader somewhat of a background. As a reader, if you find something of particular interest, you can find a host of other books that deal with that person or subject in much greater detail. You simply cannot cover this much time and these many reigns and all the appropriate baggage of bishops and relatives and do so strictly in a pure academic fashion, so I would suggest the critics just back off.I have a fine book, of fine print with complete notes and bibliography that covers one king of the Stewart dynasty in Scotland.. and while this book is a masterful academic study, I have never been able to get through it. I suppose if a doctor told me I had a terminal disease and only enough time to completely read this study, I am quite sure I would live another 25 years.Peter Ackroyd is not that and I expect he never wants to be, so I will keep on buying his books. I read them and enjoy them.

Reviewer: Paul G
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Excelente manera de compilar los sucesos de la historia de Inglaterra, sobre todo denotando la continuidad de los sucesos desde el neolítico hasta los Tudors, muchísimos detalles, y lo más importante es que no denota hitos como otros historiadores, sino la historia como un proceso de cambios, suerte y eventualidades, en un proceso continuo. Una gran lectura

Reviewer: Feedbacker09
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Wonderful, interesting, well-written and engaging. A clear go-to for historians and non-historians alike. Highly recommendable.

Reviewer: Client d’Amazon
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Very nice book, very educational! For those who want to know more about british history!

Reviewer: Adam
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Peter Ackroyd’s Foundation is an excellent start to his impeccably researched and written history of England. A must read for scholars of English social, political and constitutional history.

Reviewer: Alessandro Panzera
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Accurate, entertaining and exhaustive for everyone. A brief look until roman Britain, then a capable and deep insight in english history through its kings.Between chapters about history periods, several mini chapters about sociale history themes.A read you will remember.

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