Dominion: The History of England Volume V (History of England The) - Softcover

Ackroyd, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 150988002X ISBN 13: 9781509880027

Publisher: Pan Macmillan, 2018

Synopsis

Ackroyd, as always, is well worth the read. --Kirkus, starred review



Dominion, the fifth volume of Peter Ackroyd's masterful History of England, begins in 1815 as national glory following the Battle of Waterloo gives way to a post-war depression and ends with the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901.

Spanning the end of the Regency, Ackroyd takes readers from the accession of the profligate George IV whose government was steered by Lord Liverpool, whose face was set against reform, to the 'Sailor King' William IV whose reign saw the modernization of the political system and the abolition of slavery.

But it was the accession of Queen Victoria, at only eighteen years old, that sparked an era of enormous innovation. Technological progress--from steam railways to the first telegram--swept the nation and the finest inventions were showcased at the first Great Exhibition in 1851. The emergence of the middle-classes changed the shape of society and scientific advances changed the old pieties of the Church of England, and spread secular ideas among the population. Though intense industrialization brought booming times for the factory owners, the working classes were still subjected to poor housing, long work hours, and dire poverty. Yet by the end of Victoria's reign, the British Empire dominated much of the globe, and Britannia really did seem to rule the waves.

About this title

About the Author

Peter Ackroyd is an award-winning novelist, as well as a broadcaster, biographer, poet and historian. He is the author of the acclaimed non-fiction bestsellers Thames: Sacred River and London: The Biography. He holds a CBE for services to literature and lives in London.

Review

Ackroyd makes history accessible to the layman -- Ian Thomson * Independent *

Edition details

• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 150988002X
• ISBN 13: 9781509880027
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416