Imperial Island

Brought to you by Penguin.

Imperial Island shows how empire and its ever-present aftermath have divided and defined Britain over the last seventy years.

After the Second World War, Britain's overseas empire disintegrated. But the effects of empire lived on, shaping its population and politics and dominating its relationship with the world ever since. Drawing on a mass of new research, from personal letters to pop culture, Imperial Island tells this dramatic story of imperial demise and its potent legacy, from the Suez Crisis to the Falklands War, from the invasion of Iraq to Brexit. It is a story of immigration and social unrest, multiculturalism and extremism, and a nation continuously wrestling with its past.

'An eye-opening study of the empire within' SHASHI THAROOR

'Clear, bold, refreshing' LUCY WORSLEY'Incisive, important and incredibly timely . . . for anyone wanting to understand how Britain became the nation it is today ' CAROLINE ELKINS

'Marvellous . . . A thought-provoking delight that absolutely everyone should read' STEPHEN BUSH

'Absorbing . . . dexterously handled and carefully sourced’ Financial Times

‘Masterful, ingeniously written. You won't look at Britain in the same way ever again’ OWEN JONES

© Charlotte Lydia Riley 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023