This epic series comes to a close in "The Fate of the Empire" (1776-2001), starting Tuesday 28 May, BBC2, 9pm, and running for four weeks.
While not achieving quite the impact that previous programmes in a similar vein have done, Schama's history has nevertheless distinguished itself as a major television event. But is the book its natural home, or the TV screen? Needless to say, an author as accomplished as Schama has rendered the book quite as impressive as its TV equivalent, and this remarkable history veers between subtle and deeply penetrating insights set against shocking and violent panoramas. At the heart of this history are questions of great importance for Britain's future as well as its past. What makes or breaks a nation? To whom do we give our allegiance and why? And where do the boundaries of our community lie? All these questions are treated in the epic narrative that Schama unfolds, and all the great figures of British history are here: from Oliver Cromwell to Bonnie Prince Charlie, and from Christopher Wren to Guy Fawkes. The illustrations are, of course, nonpareil.
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