Revolution: The History of England from the Battle of the Boyne to the Battle of Waterloo

August 14, 2017
Ackroyd (Rebellion) continues his fast-paced overview of the tumultuous English monarchy with the fourth volume in the series, an account of the "long 18th century" (1688–1815) that covers the evolution of literature, trade, technology, and politics. The last Stuart-linked rulers and their carefully cultivated improvements in trade gave way to the Hanoverian succession, whose first three kings (Georges I–III) pined for their distant German principality during the advent of the industrial revolution. Prime ministers Robert Walpole and the elder and younger Pitts enjoyed great rises to power while Samuel Coleridge, Samuel Johnson, Jonathan Swift, and William Wordsworth made significant contributions to English language and literature. Ackroyd successfully argues that this great confluence of events bred an era singularly ripe for notable changes in business and culture. George III is treated sympathetically for his long reign being tarnished by losing the American colonies and for his bouts of madness. Oddly, Ackroyd subscribes to the questionable claim that George III suffered from porphyria without referencing more recent scholarship on the king's famous instability, though he admirably attempts to offer balanced views of other major figures, including Queen Anne and Prime Minister Frederick North. Scholars and students may take issue with some elements here, but Ackroyd offers suitable background on the momentous events and key figures that helped create modern Britain. Illus.

Starred review from August 15, 2017
Ackroyd (Queer City: Gay London from the Romans to the Present Day, 2017, etc.) fans rejoice! The fourth volume of the author's History of England series has arrived.As usual, history buffs will find plenty to ponder, and casual readers will enjoy Ackroyd's storytelling manner as he continues to expose little-known facts of British history--e.g., the Bank of England was originally a subscription effort, and the pound sterling became the monetary standard under Sir Isaac Newton. In the third volume, Ackroyd dealt with the Glorious Revolution of 1688; here, he digs deeply into the financial revolution under William and Mary. The Bank of England, pound, and the stock exchange were initiated to fund the latest war with France. New finances encouraged the lower gentry--those with money and land but no lineage--in their slavery to the false gods of aspiring "middling" classes. The time period also saw a significant agricultural revolution, with an increase in enclosures of large estates; wide-scale farmers looked to new methods of drainage, hedging and rotating crops, putting many peasant farmers out of business and forcing them to the cities. The conversion from wood to coal required miners; the arrival of steam gave birth to mills and factories, which required the small hands of women and children; and the union with Scotland created the largest free-trade area in the world. While the Enlightenment barely touched England's shores, the Industrial Revolution could only have been born there, where geography, material and mineral riches, and thriving colonial trade all combined to make the perfect spot. The loss of America showed Britain that it was easier to trade with colonies than to rule them. In this dizzying era, there was also time for the birth of the Fourth Estate because Parliament forgot to extend a censorship law, giving rise to the golden age of political journalism. Through it all, the author is a delightful guide. All chroniclers of popular history should be required to study Ackroyd's writing, his methodology, and the totality of his treatment of his subjects.

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May 15, 2017

Author of award-winning fiction, poetry, biography, and history, Ackroyd presents the fourth volume in a series unfolding the story of England. He opens with William III's accession to the throne, then moves to the founding of the Bank of England, the strengthening of Parliament and the Church of England, and Wellington's victory at Waterloo.

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