The nod to Empire reveals a potential weakness of the book. Any work attempting to describe the history of the English over 1,500 years is going to be a sprawling and diffuse affair. Inevitably, given the vast canvas of the book, one or two slips occur. There was no general election in January 1911, but there was one in January 1910. There are, however, remarkably few obvious inaccuracies given the book's heroic proportions.
"Englishness" is almost impossible to define and Tombs never really gets to the heart of this rather nebulous concept. The history of the English trips along at quite a leisurely pace, full of facts and interesting details knitted together by political developments which were probably slightly better known 50 years ago than today. The trauma and impact of the Battle of Hastings are well described, and Tombs points out that the Normans had been pretty dominant in England even before 1066, since the English king between 1042 and 1066, Edward the Confessor, had spent most of his life in Normandy and was related to its ruling house.
But there is also a slightly smug and unquestioning air about the book. There is the quiet assumption of English exceptionalism. The old cliché about cricket retaining "cross-class participation and appeal, making it the real national game and fostering virtues claimed to be quintessentially English" is offered without irony or embarrassment.
No fresh insights are gleaned from learning that "organised sport was the great cultural invention of late Victorian England, carrying a characteristic whiff of moralism, tempered with hypocrisy". This is the stuff of the old Oxford general paper, which one of Alan Bennett's history boys might have written 40 years ago when sitting a scholarship examination.
There is a lot about the English language and how it evolved and reflected the different peoples who shaped Britain. There isn't as much as might be expected on the cultural life of the country. The politics, if any such can be discerned, are best characterised as establishment liberal. Tombs's book reminds one of an 18th-century broad churchman, full of convivial bonhomie and common sense, without any spiritual anguish or deep spirit of inquiry.
Its publication has clearly been timed with an eye for the Christmas market, and in this context it is successful. Older readers will probably feel that they learnt most of this stuff at school, but at least Tombs gives them the opportunity to refresh half-remembered vignettes. It is the kind of book that should be enjoyed before a roaring fire on a cold winter's day. It is unlikely, however, to alter any pre-existing ideas one might have had about the history of England.
"Englishness" is almost impossible to define and Tombs never really gets to the heart of this rather nebulous concept. The history of the English trips along at quite a leisurely pace, full of facts and interesting details knitted together by political developments which were probably slightly better known 50 years ago than today. The trauma and impact of the Battle of Hastings are well described, and Tombs points out that the Normans had been pretty dominant in England even before 1066, since the English king between 1042 and 1066, Edward the Confessor, had spent most of his life in Normandy and was related to its ruling house.
But there is also a slightly smug and unquestioning air about the book. There is the quiet assumption of English exceptionalism. The old cliché about cricket retaining "cross-class participation and appeal, making it the real national game and fostering virtues claimed to be quintessentially English" is offered without irony or embarrassment.
No fresh insights are gleaned from learning that "organised sport was the great cultural invention of late Victorian England, carrying a characteristic whiff of moralism, tempered with hypocrisy". This is the stuff of the old Oxford general paper, which one of Alan Bennett's history boys might have written 40 years ago when sitting a scholarship examination.
There is a lot about the English language and how it evolved and reflected the different peoples who shaped Britain. There isn't as much as might be expected on the cultural life of the country. The politics, if any such can be discerned, are best characterised as establishment liberal. Tombs's book reminds one of an 18th-century broad churchman, full of convivial bonhomie and common sense, without any spiritual anguish or deep spirit of inquiry.
Its publication has clearly been timed with an eye for the Christmas market, and in this context it is successful. Older readers will probably feel that they learnt most of this stuff at school, but at least Tombs gives them the opportunity to refresh half-remembered vignettes. It is the kind of book that should be enjoyed before a roaring fire on a cold winter's day. It is unlikely, however, to alter any pre-existing ideas one might have had about the history of England.
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