Twentieth-Century Britain: A Very Short Introduction

This final book of the eight in the series that cover British History from Roman times to the year 2000, this one actually starts with the beginning of the First World War in 1914. This period is, of course, familiar to many alive now (I am writing this on 27 May 2025) and, for me, it's particularly interesting to read a history of the first 50 years of my life, from 1951 to the end of the century. Extraordinary, though, to find no mention of my birth or my life - I was hoping to find out what went on and where it went, all so quickly!

First published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, Kenneth Morgan's Very Short Introduction to Twentieth-Century Britain examines the forces of consensus and of conflict in twentieth-century Britain. The account covers the trauma of the First World War and the social divisions of the twenties; fierce domestic and foreign policy debates in the thirties; the impact of the Second World War for domestic transformation, popular culture and the loss of empire; the transition from the turmoil of the seventies to the aftermath of Thatcherism and the advent of New Labour. Throughout, cultural and artistic themes are woven into the analysis, along with the distinct national experiences of Scotland, Wales, and show more Ireland. The profound tension that shook the United Kingdom are juxtaposed against equally deep forces for stability, cohesion, and a sense of historic identity.

Kenneth Morgan is Research Professor, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and Lecturer in Modern History, University of Oxford. He was Principal, then Vice-Chancellor, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and Professor in the University of Wales, 1989-95. Also, Vice-Chancellor, then Senior Vice-Chancellor, University of Wales, 1993-95. show less