A History of Britain II

Simon Schama, the Bard of British history, whose A History of Britain (VL Online--3/01) became the History Channel's highest-rated mini-series ever, picks up the story of the Mother Country's glorious and checkered past with this erudite and wickedly entertaining five-hour survey covering the years from Queen Elizabeth's ascension to the throne in 1558 to the loss of the American colonies in 1781. Opening with a wonderful dissection of the battle for political/religious control between the young Protestant Bess (a reputed virgin in a day when prolonged virginity was thought to bring on sickness because--and I'm sure you'll follow the logic here--female sperm unreleased could go sour and affect other parts of the body) and her red-headed (and somewhat hot pants-ed) cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, Schama reminds viewers that their decades-long battle was "no girly soap opera," but rather a high-stakes continuation of the perennial struggle between the Protestant and Catholic faiths. We ride that bloody seesaw, and its ancillary dispute--parliamentary rule vs. monarchical rule--right into the 18th century, when England's attention would shift from God and kings, to pounds sterling and far flung empire. Along the way we meet some of the more colorful characters of British history, including Charles I (the diminutive ruler whose rather politically-obtuse insistence that kings ruled by divine right eventually led him to the chopping block), Oliver Cromwell (who initially stepped into the vacuum left by Charles I with the best of intentions, only to don the mantle of dictatorship himself), Christopher Wren (the brilliant architect who rebuilt London after the great fire of 1666, and was forced to change his plans for the new St. Paul's after the initial blueprints were felt to smack of papist design), and bonnie Prince Charles (who after unsuccessfully leading a Scottish revolt against Britain became a revered leader in the popular mind, even though he had actually fled to the continent and become an aristocratic wastrel with love handles). Sure to be a popular addition, this is highly recommended, and we anxiously await the third installment in this landmark series. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)