The British Imagination cover art

The British Imagination

A History of Ideas from Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pre-order: Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The British Imagination

By: Peter Watson
Pre-order: Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Pre-order Now for £18.99

Pre-order Now for £18.99

Confirm Pre-order
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

 Before the 16th century Britain was a small, out-of-the-way backwater, lagging far behind other global powers in terms of power and innovation. This all changed when Queen Elizabeth I was crowned. During her reign, creative and intellectual life flourished as never before, and Britain became one of the leading nations of ‘the West’. It has remained a major power ever since.

What happened in the last five hundred years to bring about this change, and to maintain it? And what can it tell us about the unique nature of British identity and exceptionalism today?

The British Imagination is a masterful journey through 500 years of history, from Shakespeare to Woolf, the Royal Society to the industrial revolution, and from the first New World colonies to the empire that by the 1920s had colonised a quarter of the world. The key tenets of British history, Peter Watson argues, are religion, empirical science, commerce and empire.

Breathtaking in scope, covering everything from astronomy to geology, philosophy to literature, The British Imagination is a spellbinding tour of the most influential ideas – and the extraordinary people – who made Britain what it is today.
©2025 Peter Watson (P)2025 Simon & Schuster UK Great Britain
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The British Imagination

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.co.uk reviews

Amazon reviews
No Reviews are Available