Description
Hugely important to the history of the British Isles yet commonly misunderstood and neglected by contemporary audiences, the story of the Celts is finally told in a coherent and engaging fashion by the bestselling author of A Short History of England.
One of the most enigmatic yet prolific civilisations of Ancient Britain, the Celtic people remain a source of mystery even to their modern-day descendants. Remnants of their language and culture are still alive throughout parts of Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Cornwall; however, while there have been many histories of individual Celtic nations, there have been none as a collective phenomenon.
Often seen as fragmented adjuncts to English history, in The Celts Simon Jenkins offers a compelling counterargument, examining the impact of the Celts on what we know as the UK today. This is a fascinating and timely debate on who the Celts really were – or weren’t – and what should be their future in an increasingly dis-United Kingdom.
MEDIA REVIEWS
Praise for Simon Jenkins:
‘A lucid and handsomely illustrated narrative’ – The Times
‘Where Jenkins excels is in his very journalistic approach… The historical events are joined up, and work as narrative’ – Time Out
‘Immediately accessible’ – Prospect
‘This is traditional, kings-and-things, great-men history with all its dates and famous quotations in place… Jenkins has a newspaper columnist’s aphoristic verve’ – Spectator
‘Full of good writing and lively anecdotes… Food for thought’ – New Statesman
‘A characteristically bold, wry, fluent, combative gallop through English history’ – Max Hastings