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, fads such as eugenics, vegetarianism and nudism were gripping the nation, while 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 ring from almost every page.
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Andrew Marr was born in Glasgow in 1959. He studied English at the University of Cambridge and has since enjoyed a long career in political journalism, working for the Scotsman, the Independent, the Daily Express and the Observer. From 2000 to 2005 he was the BBC's Political Editor. He has written and presented TV documentaries on history, science and politics, and presents the weekly Andrew Marr Show on Sunday mornings on BBC1 and Start the Week on Radio 4. Andrew lives in London with his family.
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'The book is lively, readable and engaging . . . vivid character studies and colourful vignettes, some of cinematic brilliance . . . Marr has an enviable ability to unravel complex issues and expound them in simple terms. He possesses a sharp radical edge and often goes to the heart of the matter . . . Marr can also be genuinely funny . . . an acute eye for details that puts the past in perspective . . . Marr's analyses are lucid . . . He sums up historical debates adeptly'
--Guardian
--Guardian
About the Author
Andrew Marr was born in Glasgow in 1959. He studied English at the University of Cambridge and has since enjoyed a long career in political journalism, working for the Scotsman, the Independent, the Daily Express and the Observer. From 2000 to 2005 he was the BBC’s Political Editor. He has written and presented TV documentaries on history, science and politics, and presents the weekly Andrew Marr Show on Sunday mornings on BBC1 and Start the Week on Radio 4. Andrew lives in London with his family.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
73 of 75 people found the following review helpful
By father2
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Andrew Marr is the kind of person you wish had been your History teacher at school. Many people view history as a dry subject, boring at best and downright death inducing at worst. But history, as presented by Mr Marr, comes alive and throbs with vitality. This book, following on from his previous one, covers the period from the start of the twentieth century right up until the end of the Second World War. During that time there is a wealth of history waiting to be discovered and many things will amaze you.
Sadly though Andrew Marr has at times been sloppy with his facts. For example Mr Marr rightly claims that Queen Victoria was born in 1819 and became Queen in 1837, but mistakenly states that Queen Victoria was twenty when she became Queen, when in fact she had turned eighteen less than a month previously. When you find errors like this it tends to undermine your confidence in the facts being presented overall throughout the book. Some proof reading would have served Mr Marr well, one feels.
But that said this is a very good book, filled with a wealth of history that is easy to read and even more easy to understand. It is not dry history, but is alive and helps us to understand the path our country took to arrive in our modern times. Along the way you will learn about Edwardians, World War One, the General Strike, Depression and of course the road to further conflict during World War Two.
Personally I love history and read a lot of books on the subject. But this book will appeal to people on a much wider scale and reading through it's pages won't make you feel as though you are back in a boring history lesson. Rather you will feel like a tourist travelling through time soaking up what our grandparents and great grandparents experienced during their lives.
Sadly though Andrew Marr has at times been sloppy with his facts. For example Mr Marr rightly claims that Queen Victoria was born in 1819 and became Queen in 1837, but mistakenly states that Queen Victoria was twenty when she became Queen, when in fact she had turned eighteen less than a month previously. When you find errors like this it tends to undermine your confidence in the facts being presented overall throughout the book. Some proof reading would have served Mr Marr well, one feels.
But that said this is a very good book, filled with a wealth of history that is easy to read and even more easy to understand. It is not dry history, but is alive and helps us to understand the path our country took to arrive in our modern times. Along the way you will learn about Edwardians, World War One, the General Strike, Depression and of course the road to further conflict during World War Two.
Personally I love history and read a lot of books on the subject. But this book will appeal to people on a much wider scale and reading through it's pages won't make you feel as though you are back in a boring history lesson. Rather you will feel like a tourist travelling through time soaking up what our grandparents and great grandparents experienced during their lives.
90 of 93 people found the following review helpful
By Book Lover
Format:Hardcover
I hadn't read anything by Andrew Marr before, but as 1900-1945 is a period I'm very interested in I thought I'd give this a go. Marr's an engaging TV presenter, but his writing style is even more evocative, and it's almost as if he's telling you the story of the period face to face with the way he manages to bring the period to life so well. You can almost hear him speaking to you as you read.
The social history element was what I enjoyed most - the stories of the music hall entertainers, the first night club owners, the Suffragettes, the birth of the mortgage-obsessed society, the first package holidays - but what's fascinating is the way Marr weaves politics, general history, social history and commentary together so that you don't even realise you're moving from one subject to another. This was a great read, and educational, and I'm definitely going to be buying his next book!
The social history element was what I enjoyed most - the stories of the music hall entertainers, the first night club owners, the Suffragettes, the birth of the mortgage-obsessed society, the first package holidays - but what's fascinating is the way Marr weaves politics, general history, social history and commentary together so that you don't even realise you're moving from one subject to another. This was a great read, and educational, and I'm definitely going to be buying his next book!
157 of 163 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Marr's previous history of post war Britain was hugely accessible, well written, populist and often very quirky. One remembers the flashes of detail such as the impact on the British people of unpopular imported tinned fish "snoek" after the second world war or his dislike of the eighties "big hair" rock bands. As a big post 1945 political history for the general reader it has few equals but can Marr perform the same trick in his new and equally weighty tome "The Making of Modern Britain" subtitled "From Queen Victoria to VE Day"
It is set in a historical period that has been subject to forensic analysis from eminent historians ranging from A J P Taylor, Peter Clarke, Paul Addison and Martin Pugh. Similarly in terms of key events like the First World War there is an embarrassment of riches in terms of the works of Huw Strachen, John Keegan and Niall Ferguson. As such this period is one of the most studied and argued over era's in British history and it begs the question what can Marr add?
Ultimately the value of Marrs approach it to pitch his book again into the field of populist history and encourage accessibility. No doubt students and the general reader will use his book as a source to get into other historical works for which we must pay our thanks to him. His book accompanies a TV series and therefore has to be lively in its analysis, entertaining and self deprecating. As Marr has stated in the series bumf "If you are not trying to make people watch, if you're determined to maintain your dignity, then you're in the wrong business". That said the sections in this book on Music Halls, the Suffragettes, Charlie Chaplin and political figures like Asquith and Lloyd George are excellent and provide real illumination. Read more ›
It is set in a historical period that has been subject to forensic analysis from eminent historians ranging from A J P Taylor, Peter Clarke, Paul Addison and Martin Pugh. Similarly in terms of key events like the First World War there is an embarrassment of riches in terms of the works of Huw Strachen, John Keegan and Niall Ferguson. As such this period is one of the most studied and argued over era's in British history and it begs the question what can Marr add?
Ultimately the value of Marrs approach it to pitch his book again into the field of populist history and encourage accessibility. No doubt students and the general reader will use his book as a source to get into other historical works for which we must pay our thanks to him. His book accompanies a TV series and therefore has to be lively in its analysis, entertaining and self deprecating. As Marr has stated in the series bumf "If you are not trying to make people watch, if you're determined to maintain your dignity, then you're in the wrong business". That said the sections in this book on Music Halls, the Suffragettes, Charlie Chaplin and political figures like Asquith and Lloyd George are excellent and provide real illumination. Read more ›
42 of 44 people found the following review helpful
By HBH
Format:Hardcover
The Making of Modern Britain is a very good book dealing with the era when Britian evolved from a Victorian superpower to the dawn of the country we know today. It is well-written, insightful, opinionated and has a very good pace. However, there is a slight hint of bias at times. Also because it is covering 45 years in around 400-500 pages it does not cover everything, and partly as the result of this some may struggle to get used to the structure, which although roughly chrononlogical does jump about a bit in both themes (just because the author was the political editor of the BBC do not assume that it is a dry book about politics) and time. The one major criticsm I have of the work though is the bibliography which is not up to the standard of the rest of the work . All in all though a very good book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
BRILLIANT
This is an EXCELLENT book, read in conjunction with "A History of Modern Britain" they gave me a far better insight into why we are how we are now in this country & the... Read more
Published 28 days ago by J. Lewis
4.0 out of 5 stars
Britain in 'The Age of Churchill'
For the book, Andrew Marr has reduced his history of Britain – from 1900 to 1945, what he calls ‘The Age of Churchill’ – down from six episodes of the TV series to four chapters... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Nicholas Casley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very readable
That Andrew Marr is a journalist, as opposed to an academic historian, makes this book really work for me. Read more
Published 3 months ago by John Brain
1.0 out of 5 stars
Hidden agendas and fantastic facts
Let me start by saying I'm not a regular book reviewer, but I am an historian, so this review will be focused on three main points. Read more
Published 3 months ago by GR
5.0 out of 5 stars
History
Well researched book, written in an easy to read and thought provoking style.
It covers events and issues many of us have experienced in our own lives and broadens our... Read more
It covers events and issues many of us have experienced in our own lives and broadens our... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Rosemary Nodder
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amusing, Interesting, An excellent read
Andrew Marr makes History interesting to read about. A great read - especially for students studying Democracy and Dictatorship A-Level which contains Modern British History.
Published 4 months ago by Ben Hood
3.0 out of 5 stars
'Britain'...?
I found myself in a curious emotional and intellectual soup after reading Andrew Marr's accessible creation. I like Andrew Marr and his personality permeates through to the pages. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Dontcallmetaffy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliantly researched and written book
Very interesting book on a very interesting subject and I like his slant on history. I am now going to find his other books and read them too !
Published 8 months ago by Will Atkins
4.0 out of 5 stars
So many big events explained
A great read from a very good writer, with so many insights and explanations for the big changes and events of the early 20th century. Read more
Published 9 months ago by statler
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting read for the historically uninformed
Whilst at times the politics got a bit on the heavy side, overall I found this an interesting and informative read. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mark Fishpool
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