The Celts
A Sceptical History
Published on 30. June 2022
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-78816-880-9 (ISBN)
Description
'Simon Jenkins, as ever, writes with clarity and insight' The Times
'Jenkins has a journalist's ear for the outrageous' Sunday Times
'There's much here to interest and stimulate' Literary Review
The history of the Celts is the history of a misnomer.
There has never been a distinct people, race or tribe claiming the name of Celtic, though remnants of different languages and cultures remain throughout Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Cornwall. The word keltoi first appears in Greek as applied generally to aliens or 'barbarians' - and theories of Celticism continue to fuel many of the prejudices and misconceptions that divide the peoples of the British Isles to this day.
Often seen as unimportant or irrelevant adjuncts to English history, in The Celts Simon Jenkins offers a compelling counterargument. This is a fascinating and timely debate on who the Celts really were - or weren't - and what their legacy should be in an increasingly dis-United Kingdom.
'Jenkins has a journalist's ear for the outrageous' Sunday Times
'There's much here to interest and stimulate' Literary Review
The history of the Celts is the history of a misnomer.
There has never been a distinct people, race or tribe claiming the name of Celtic, though remnants of different languages and cultures remain throughout Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Cornwall. The word keltoi first appears in Greek as applied generally to aliens or 'barbarians' - and theories of Celticism continue to fuel many of the prejudices and misconceptions that divide the peoples of the British Isles to this day.
Often seen as unimportant or irrelevant adjuncts to English history, in The Celts Simon Jenkins offers a compelling counterargument. This is a fascinating and timely debate on who the Celts really were - or weren't - and what their legacy should be in an increasingly dis-United Kingdom.
Reviews / Votes
Simon Jenkins, as ever, writes with clarity and insight -- Gerard DeGroot * Times * Jenkins has a journalist's ear for the outrageous -- John Carey * Sunday Times * There's much here to interest and stimulate -- Ewen A Cameron * Literary Review * Beautifully written with a firm hand on his facts ... startlingly good -- Sandra Callard * On Magazine * An intelligent and provocative polemic -- Andrew Lynch * Business Post * A compelling, often unsettling argument ... smiting at the roots of cherished myths and subverting notions of patriotic identity. Jenkins gives his version of the past 1,500 years or so with clarity and erudition -- Simon Griffith * Mail on Sunday * Hugely important to the history of the British Isles yet commonly misunderstood and neglected by contemporary audiences, the story of the Celts is finally told in a coherent and engaging fashion by the bestselling author of A Short History of England * Waterstones Best Books of 2022: History * Praise for A Short History of England:'A lucid and handsomely illustrated narrative * Times * Jenkins is one of the liveliest commentators at work in Britain, always worth reading and pleasingly contrarian -- Jeremy Paxman * Guardian * This is traditional, kings-and-things, great-men history with all its dates and famous quotations in place ... Jenkins has a newspaper columnist's aphoristic verve * Spectator * A characteristically bold, wry, fluent, combative gallop through English history -- Max Hastings Full of good writing and lively anecdotes ... Food for thought * New Statesman * Immediately accessible * Prospect * Where Jenkins excels is in his very journalistic approach ... The historical events are joined up, and work as narrative * Time Out *
More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 144 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
420 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78816-880-9 (9781788168809)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2022
Profile Books Ltd
€14.49
Available for download
Person
Simon Jenkins is the author of the bestselling A Short History of England, also published by Profile, A Short History of Europe and many other bestsellers. Until 2014, he was chairman of the National Trust. A former editor of The Times and Evening Standard, he is a columnist for the Guardian.