Innovation
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- Create Date：2021-10-02 07:50:53
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Peter Ackroyd
- ISBN：1250003660
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Summary
Innovation， the sixth and final volume in Peter Ackroyd's magnificent History of England series， takes readers from the Boer War to the Millennium Dome almost a hundred years later。
Innovation brings Peter Ackroyd's History of England to a triumphant close。 Ackroyd takes readers from the end of the Boer War and the accession of Edward VII to the end of the twentieth century， when his great-granddaughter Elizabeth II had been on the throne for almost five decades。
It was a century of enormous change， encompassing two world wars， four monarchs （Edward VII， George V， George VI and the Queen）， the decline of the aristocracy and the rise of the Labour Party， women's suffrage， the birth of the NHS， the march of suburbia and the clearance of the slums。 It was a period that saw the work of the Bloomsbury Group and T。S。 Eliot， of Kingsley Amis and Philip Larkin， from the end of the post-war slump to the technicolor explosion of the 1960s， to free love and punk rock， and from Thatcher to Blair。
A vividly readable， richly peopled tour de force， Innovation is Peter Ackroyd writing at the height of his powers。
Innovation brings Peter Ackroyd's History of England to a triumphant close。 Ackroyd takes readers from the end of the Boer War and the accession of Edward VII to the end of the twentieth century， when his great-granddaughter Elizabeth II had been on the throne for almost five decades。
It was a century of enormous change， encompassing two world wars， four monarchs （Edward VII， George V， George VI and the Queen）， the decline of the aristocracy and the rise of the Labour Party， women's suffrage， the birth of the NHS， the march of suburbia and the clearance of the slums。 It was a period that saw the work of the Bloomsbury Group and T。S。 Eliot， of Kingsley Amis and Philip Larkin， from the end of the post-war slump to the technicolor explosion of the 1960s， to free love and punk rock， and from Thatcher to Blair。
A vividly readable， richly peopled tour de force， Innovation is Peter Ackroyd writing at the height of his powers。
Reviews
Lora
，
Innovation covers England history from the time of queen Victoria's death until the death of princess Diana in 1997。 Really doesn't mention the royal family that much。 Just enough so you relate what's going in the royal family to what's going on in England。 This is the first book I've read by Peter Ackroyd。 I am looking for to reading the previous books In this series。I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher and/or author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 Innovation covers England history from the time of queen Victoria's death until the death of princess Diana in 1997。 Really doesn't mention the royal family that much。 Just enough so you relate what's going in the royal family to what's going on in England。 This is the first book I've read by Peter Ackroyd。 I am looking for to reading the previous books In this series。I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher and/or author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Kelly
，
Full disclosure， I have not read the first five volumes of Ackroyd's History of England， but I don't think it's necessary。 Innovation covers the history of England during the twentieth century。 That being said， it felt very much like a large majority of the book is written through the viewpoint of interpretation through politics。 A large portion of the book seems to address the constant waxing and waning of the various political parties， the prime ministers that stood for them and the inevitable Full disclosure， I have not read the first five volumes of Ackroyd's History of England， but I don't think it's necessary。 Innovation covers the history of England during the twentieth century。 That being said， it felt very much like a large majority of the book is written through the viewpoint of interpretation through politics。 A large portion of the book seems to address the constant waxing and waning of the various political parties， the prime ministers that stood for them and the inevitable changing of the guard when the people grew disenchanted with them。 Many of the historical events are addressed by how the played out because of political maneuvering。 If you enjoy politics， then this would make this perspective on history perfect for you。 Many things， including two World Wars， the suffragette movement at the beginning of the century， arts， entertainment and culture feel largely glossed over。 For a book that has the current head of the Royal family on the cover the royalty are barely addressed at all， except when there is a changing of a guard and how it affects political power。 The other thing that seems apparent to me is the constant viewpoint of the English to view themselves as superior to everyone - other members of Europe， the United States， India， states in Africa， etc。 They only seem to want to be involved in European groups if they don't have to make any personal sacrifices， but want to be seen as a leader and setting the tone。 After throwing multiple countries on the Continent under the bus to Mussolini and Hitler to save their own skin （and because Communism is worse！） why would Europe want to concede anything to them？ As someone who tends to find politics annoying， exhausting and self-serving I tended to find a lot of this book dry and not likely to be particularly flattering to England from the outsider's perspective。 。。。more
MookNana
，
This history of 20th century England is accessible and comprehensive， but comes across as almost antiseptic。 The recitation of facts seems competent enough， but there's little life in the text。 That may be due to the fact that these eras have been dramatized in Downton Abbey， The Crown， and countless films and therefore dry prose cannot help but pale in comparison。 The sections about life and culture were more interesting than the political discussions but there was a curious unevenness to what This history of 20th century England is accessible and comprehensive， but comes across as almost antiseptic。 The recitation of facts seems competent enough， but there's little life in the text。 That may be due to the fact that these eras have been dramatized in Downton Abbey， The Crown， and countless films and therefore dry prose cannot help but pale in comparison。 The sections about life and culture were more interesting than the political discussions but there was a curious unevenness to what was discussed。 I swear there were more words devoted to Lonnie Donnegan than the Holocaust。 This format probably worked much better for earlier eras for which sources and histories are much more scarce。 It's not unreadable， exactly， just。。。uninspiring。 Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review。 。。。more
Nicki Markus
，
Innovation is a fitting and pleasing conclusion to Ackroyd's excellent History of England series。 Perhaps in some ways it's the least interesting of the six volumes， so much of its action being within living memory， but there is still something new to learn from its pages。 For me， some of the political discussion was less engaging， particular once we reached the period within my lifetime， but I did enjoy reading about when certain technologies and appliances we take for granted these days were f Innovation is a fitting and pleasing conclusion to Ackroyd's excellent History of England series。 Perhaps in some ways it's the least interesting of the six volumes， so much of its action being within living memory， but there is still something new to learn from its pages。 For me， some of the political discussion was less engaging， particular once we reached the period within my lifetime， but I did enjoy reading about when certain technologies and appliances we take for granted these days were first introduced， the advent of chain stores etc。 In conclusion， this book neatly wraps up the series， which has been a great achievement for Ackroyd， and if you haven't read any of the volumes yet， I highly recommend all history buffs to start with book one and work your way through， as they are all well written and well researched。I received this book as a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Kayla
，
This book may be a bit confusing for outsiders that aren’t so familiar with England’s political parties。 A majority of this book does focus on politics， so pop culture and other historical events take a backseat to how politics may be affected by them。 It is packed full of political history， but as far as history of everything else going on in England at this time？ Minimal。 However， I did appreciate the easily accessible language used throughout the book， as it made it slightly easier to push th This book may be a bit confusing for outsiders that aren’t so familiar with England’s political parties。 A majority of this book does focus on politics， so pop culture and other historical events take a backseat to how politics may be affected by them。 It is packed full of political history， but as far as history of everything else going on in England at this time？ Minimal。 However， I did appreciate the easily accessible language used throughout the book， as it made it slightly easier to push through to the end 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Innovation
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Innovation&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Innovation&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0