England: The Making of the Myth from Stonehenge to Albert Square. - Review - book review

Contemporary Review, June, 2001

England: The Making of the Myth from Stonehenge to Albert Square. Maureen Duffy. Fourth Estate. [pound]13.99.274 pages. ISBN 1-84115-166-1. The author's aim is to look again at the 'myths' or legends that have helped to create Englishmen's view of England, not just as a Kingdom but as a way of life.

She sets herself a rather large task and tackles it with gusto: famous stories such as King Alfred and the burnt cakes; Shakespeare's use of history and his own influence on our understanding of English history; the role of trade and of the City of London; the importance of India and then of the Empire and so on. She proceeds at a cracking pace and because she writes chronologically she gives readers a discourse on English history in the process. She has fashionable views regarding the future of the United Kingdom vis-a-vis the European Union -- our future is indelibly tied to 'Europe' and so forth. In centuries to come historians will prize this book as an example of a major strain in the mental makeup of a sizab le portion of post-historic Englishmen.(P.P.F.)