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The Rise and Fall of the British Empire
Lawrence James

The Rise and Fall of the British Empire

This work covers the history of British expansion overseas from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Narrative and analysis are interwoven with revealing eyewitness quotations to provide keen insight into the minds of those involved in conquering, settling and ruling the British Empire. Throughout, there are consistent themes: the search for profit and the moral misgivings it generated; domestic developments which made imperial expansion desirable; and the sense of national and personal destiny felt by the empire-builders.

Book Details:

  • Author: Lawrence James
  • Published Year: 1994
  • Rights Sold
    • UK: Little Brown
    • US: St Martin's Press
    • China: Beijing Standway Books Co
Lawrence James

Lawrence James

Lawrence James was a founder member of York University and then took a research degree at Merton College, Oxford. After a distinguished teaching career he became a full-time writer in 1985 and has emerged as one of the outstanding narrative historians of his generation. His books include Crimea: The War with Russia in Contemporary Photographs, The Savage Wars: British Campaigns in Africa 1870-1920, Mutiny: Mutinies in British and Commonwealth Forces 1797-1956 and Imperial Rearguard: The Last Wars of Empire.Lawrence James edited the Daily Telegraph British Empire supplement (1997) and was th...
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Book Reviews

  • "The range, sweep, and sheer verve of the book are prodigious. James can't write a dull sentence. This is a book which every student, every family should be made to read...Whether he is describing the Indian mutiny or the Suez crisis, the expansion of Africa or the little local difficulty in the American colonies, James has a genius for detail. there is a wonderful blend of the familiar and the new. This book is a masterpiece."
    AN Wilson
  • "It is, however, with this superb history of a mammoth subject that his writing career has reached its apogee...This well-balanced and thoughtful work is a testament to what imperialism can achieve."
    Andrew Roberts, The Times
  • "James's epic is not only a first-rate narrative, but also a penetrating portrait of the British, neither unattractive nor flattering..."
    Times Literary Supplement
  • "Lawrence James never loses sight of his grand design, yet he still finds room for the telling detail which illuminates and enriches a narrative."
    The Daily Telegraph
  • "I recommend this book to sixthformers, undergraduates, and, indeed, the general reader."
    The Sunday Telegraph