



The Making of Modern Britain (Abridged)
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4.0 • 61 Ratings
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- £6.99
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
In The Making of Modern Britain, Andrew Marr paints a fascinating portrait of life in Britain during the first half of the twentieth century as the country recovered from the grand wreckage of the British Empire.
Between the death of Queen Victoria and the end of the Second World War, the nation was shaken by war and peace. The two wars were the worst we had ever known and the episodes of peace among the most turbulent and surprising. As the political forum moved from Edwardian smoking rooms to an increasingly democratic Westminster, the people of Britain experimented with extreme ideas as they struggled to answer the question ‘How should we live?’ Socialism? Fascism? Feminism? Meanwhile, the Suffragette movement was taking shape as the popularity of the music hall soared. It was also a time that witnessed the birth of the media as we know it today and the beginnings of the welfare state.
Beyond trenches, flappers and Spitfires, this is a story of strange cults and economic madness, of revolutionaries and heroic inventors, sexual experiments and raucous stage heroines. From organic food to drugs, nightclubs and celebrities to package holidays, crooked bankers to sleazy politicians, the echoes of today's Britain can be heard throughout.
Customer Reviews
Not an impressionist
There are some great anecdotes in this and I certainly have come away having learnt something new.
However the chapters and paragraphs within have not been structured properly so you jump from time, place and prime minister on a regular basis.
Andrew Marr sounds like he is reporting the news rather than narrating a book. And his impressions of Churchill, Lloyd George and even the Welsh amongst others is just terrible.
A worthwhile prequel
Having thoroughly enjoyed a History of Modern Britain I bought this audiobook with a great deal of anticipation. At the beginning of that book Marr touches on the differences (and similarities) between post-war Britons and those of today, this book takes up that description in detail.
His impressions are as awful as ever but he uses local stories to explain a wider context such as how Mr. Rowntree notes the state of Britains poor in Edwardian Britain. I would thoroughly recommend it.
The Making of Modern Britain
I'm not a particular fan of books on history, but I found this audio book absolutely riveting. There's a great blend of broad overview and fascinating detail. Well researched and highly entertaining.