This Sceptred Isle Collection 2: 1702-1901 cover art

This Sceptred Isle Collection 2: 1702-1901

The Classic BBC Radio History

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This Sceptred Isle Collection 2: 1702-1901

By: Christopher Lee, Winston Churchill
Narrated by: Anna Massey, Peter Jeffrey, Brett Usher, Denys Hawthorne, David Holt, Keith Drinkel, Patrick Reinhardt, Sean Baker
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Summary

The final five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle.

Christopher Lee's epic history tells the story of Britain from the Romans to the death of Victoria. This collection includes the original volumes 6-10:

  • '1702-1760: The First British Empire; the reign of George I; Britain's first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole; and the first rendition of 'Rule Britannia'.
  • 1760-1792: The Age of Revolution; the Industrial Revolution begins; America declares independence; France is rocked by social and political upheaval.
  • 1792-1815: Nelson, Wellington and Napoleon war in Europe; the introduction of income tax; England is victorious in the Battle of Trafalgar.
  • 1815-1837: regency and reform; the Prince of Wales becomes George IV; Sir Robert Peel creates the Metropolitan Police; slavery is abolished in the British Empire.
  • 1837-1901: the age of Victoria Victoria's 64-year reign encompasses huge social changes; Britain expands her empire; the Labour Party is founded.

Narrated by Anna Massey, with extracts from Sir Winston Churchill's A History of the English-Speaking Peoples read by Peter Jeffrey, this is the definitive radio account of the events and personalities that have shaped our nation.

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Have read the 3 volumes of the Sceptred Isle and all 3 are of the same standard. Excellent.

Wonderful read

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I have loved the This Sceptred Isle for many years. it's a fantastic, in depth exploration of British history.

Great, in depth history

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I enjoyed part 1 of the series and mainly enjoyed this summary of largely British history covering the 18th and 19th centuries. My major criticism is that repeatedly the text refers to King/Queen of England or the country as England when in both cases it should be Great Britain or United Kingdom. I assume that professional historians were involved so it unforgivably careless to use these terms when the crowns were combined in 1603 and the parliaments in 1707. The narrators are excellent.

Two centuries condensed into 14 hours

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I am still working my way through this. It is excellent material but there's one thing that is seriously bugging me! It is actually putting me off getting to the end. It's Anna Massey's posher than posh accent! She makes the queen sound like Jamie Oliver! It might have been okay in the 1940s but in the 2000s, it grates on the ears to hear all those explosive consonants, rrrrrrrolled R's and hearing 'amelican' instead of 'american'.


It would be better with less posh narration.

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well structured and performed. quite difficult to take it all in but really interesting all the same.

enthralling.

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