Ian Stewart is a historian of modern Europe. Here he picks five of his favourite British history books that tell the stories of a union.
Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837 by Linda Colley
A masterpiece that shows how the empire, war and Protestantism helped to bind the four nations of Britain and Ireland into a union.
Modern Ireland: 1600-1972 by RF Foster
The histories of Britain and Ireland are intertwined, as shown in this sophisticated volume. Quite simply one of the best modern national histories ever written.
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A History of Wales by John Davies
Originally written in Welsh, this translation traces the history of Wales and the Welsh from prehistoric times to the present.
Subverting Scotland’s Past by Colin Kidd
This complex book shows that unlike many small nations, 19th-century Scotland did not develop a separatist nationalist movement because the intellectuals of the Scottish Enlightenment had reconciled Scottish and English history.
Storied Ground: Landscape and the Shaping of English National Identity by Paul Readman
The English landscape is central to English national identity, but the author shows how broad this idea can be, encompassing cityscapes and industrial settings and not just the rural mythologised vision of ‘Merrie England’.
