A History of Ancient Britain
Neil Oliver

Weidenfeld and Nicolson (Orion)
15 September 2011 / ISBN: 9780297863328
Non Fiction/History
Stone Age To Romans / Various Locations in Britain
Amazon / AMAZON UK

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde

Until the coming of the Romans, there is very little written history about life in Britain. What we have instead are the remains of the way people lived, and this dates back half a million years. This is the story of these ancient people, the world they lived in, the tools they created and how we know what we do.

In short, this is another book on prehistoric Britain, albeit one backed up with an impressive BBC2 TV series. Or is it? When I think of a history book, I tend to think of something interesting enough but often the bare bones, and we all know that they do have a tendency to be dry and dusty. This book is anything but, but having watched the series and many others narrated by Neil Oliver, perhaps I should have expected something special. Here is a narrator who could weave a tale about drying paint and make it sound exciting, so small wonder that this book tends to grab hold from page one and won·t let go. It is quite simply beautifully written by somebody with a poet·s ear for good writing and also a deep knowledge of and passion for his subject. There is plenty too about the making of the series, and how the diverse places and artifacts encountered made various impressions on the author. This is a hands-on sort of history that makes the reader want to go and see it all for themselves. There is much exploration of modern science and its role to play in finding out about the past, as well as a sense of the sheer magic of encountering anything belonging to a time so long ago. This is one for the keeper shelf - very highly recommended.