Pax Britannica

Pax Britannica : Pax Brittanica

  • by Jan Morris
  • Narrated by Roy McMillan
  • Series: Pax Brittanica
  • 17 hrs and 9 mins
  • Unabridged Audiobook
4.47 (105
Ratings.
)

Publisher's Summary

The Pax Britannica trilogy is Jan Morris’s magnificent history of the British Empire from 1837 to 1965. Huge in scope and ambition, it is always personal and immediate, bringing the story vividly to life. Pax Britannica, the second volume, is a snapshot of the Empire at the Diamond Jubilee of 1897. It looks at what made up the Empire —from adventurers and politicians to communications and infrastructure, as well as anomalies and eccentricities. This humane overview also examines the muddle of jumbled ideologies behind it, and how it affected its 370 million people.

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Customer Reviews

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The British Empire at it's Peak

In this, the second volume of Jan Morris's history of the British Empire, we are given a masterful overview of the British Empire on one specific day. That day is June 22, 1897 - the date of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (the 60th anniversary of her reign). Mr. Morris chooses this date as the ascendant point of the British Empire.

This book is a tour-De-force of history as it surveys almost every conceivable angle of the Empire as it stood on this one day. This covers not just the physical condition of the people in England, imperialists at work in the Empire, and the people who were being ruled - but their attitudes, literature, music, arts, military capabilities, and more.

There are so many things to recommend about this trilogy, but one of the most impressive is how many places Mr. Morris physically visited while putting it together. This gives its descriptions, which are lavish and highly evocative, a "been there" authority. Of course, we only know when an empire is at its peak when its decline is in view, but given that this book was originally written in the late 1960's Mr. Morris's choice of this date seems very prescient.

And it must be noted that the narrator - Roy McMillan - is simply brilliant in his performance.

A must add to your library.
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- Bryan

Amazing history!

What did you love best about Pax Britannica?

Mesmerizing history of the British Empire


What did you like best about this story?

The context it set for me vastly improved my understanding


What about Roy McMillan’s performance did you like?

Lovely voice, nicely cadenced


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- Scoutkayaker

Book Details

  • Release Date: 07-20-2011
  • Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks
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