Roman Britain: A History from Beginning to End

By: Henry Freeman

Narrated by: Philip Sondericker

This audiobook takes a holistic look at Roman Britain, from the events leading up to its official inception in AD 43 until the Romans left the Isle entirely around AD 409. The timeline is straightforward, and each chapter delves into some aspect of Romano-British life: dealing with the concept of the Celts; when Britannia actually became Roman; how the two peoples attempted to blend their culture through religion; and lastly, why the Romans had to leave.

Inside you will read about....

• "The Timeline"
• "Ancient Celtic Ethnicity, a Modern Invention"
• "The Beginnings of Roman Britain"
• "Religion and Blending Culture in Roman Britain"
• "The Bitter End"

It can be difficult to explain everything from a neutral, unbiased perspective as most of the records from the time are Roman in nature, but drawing on a variety of perspectives from archaeologists and historians alike has made for a thought-provoking assessment of the era. Rome's power bestowed cities like London and York to Britannia, and their lasting influence is still visible today in places like Bath and at Hadrian's Wall to the north. Roman Britain lingers on still.

©2016 Henry Freeman (P)2017 Henry Freeman

More of an article than a book

The author presents an interesting thesis to the effect that what we today know as "Celtic" is a modern construct, that the native people of what are now the British Isles did not use that term nor consider themselves to be all one people. But, at only a little over 1 hour long, maybe 2 if you listen at a slower speed, I would not really count this as a book worthy of spending one of my monthly credits on. And certainly would not in any way consider it to be a comprehensive history of Roman-occupied Britain, as the title and description seem to imply!

Scholarly

This short history of Roman Britain reads like a college term paper. It is informative and well documented. I found it to be a good introduction to a murky period in the history of Great Britain.